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Why We All Deserve a Break From Social Media

Hamna Awan

 

Like
many of us, I recently succumbed to the stresses of social media and just quit.
I deactivated my Facebook, said goodbye to the Instagram app, and threw Snapchat
to the curb. I did, however, decide to keep Twitter—mostly because I use it
less for connecting with others and more for complaining about late buses and
the lack of/too much cream in my iced coffee.

There
is such a thing as too much connecting. Constantly updating your social media
on what’s new in your life, seeing everyone else’s updates and pictures of get-togethers,
etc… It’s exhausting.

(Kim
Kardashian voice)

Like,
I’m just over it.

I’m
tired of knowing every little development in people’s lives—whether it be via
Facebook or Instagram—or any little, even moderately exciting thing that
happened to them recently (or that has ever happened to them, via the #tbt hashtag).
I also got tired of feeling the need to update everyone on my life. I mean, I
think there’s a very small handful of people who actually care, and I’d rather
just tell them myself.

Instagram

Am
I the only one who feels the need to scroll through her timeline sometime in
the morning until I’ve reached the batch of old ones I had already seen last
night? It’s a waste of time and I find myself getting bored doing it, but I
feel compelled.

Then
there’s the struggle of having to think of creative ways to take pictures, with
creative angles and creative lighting; I just don’t want to, dammit.

Also,
my food is to eat, not to Instagram. I’ve grown tired of showing the world my
meal before it is viciously devoured by my carnivorous appetite. (On that note,
I’ve also grown tired of seeing everyone else’s meals seconds before their
devourings.)

I
also feel like it takes away from experiences—I want to go back to having a
great time without showing everyone what a great time I had.

Snapchat

If
I’m being honest, I just don’t understand the purpose of Snapchat. I just don’t
get it. I just don’t need/want to know what everyone I know is up to every day.
It’s one thing if it’s something particularly exciting, but the number of
selfies I used to receive and pictures of people holding their coffee or pouting
in front of their books… I just don’t get it. I just don’t.

Facebook

The
big one. The king of all social media. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is
about Facebook, but it has recently taken up residence on my last nerve.
Perhaps the mindless scrolling and flooding of my mind with everyone else’s
thoughts via status updates and new photo albums has finally gotten to me.

All
in all, I’m just tired. I need some “me” time, time to grow on my own without
the constant watch/influence of 200 followers/followings on me, and I’m really
looking forward to seeing how different my life feels without a heavy online
presence. I’m also well aware that this change will not last forever. This is a
temporary hiatus, not the end of my social media career.

This
is not the last you will see of me, social media.

The Lowdown on Being a Social Media Addict

Karuna Israni

Let’s just face the facts: we’re all addicted to social media in some way or another. There might be a handful of you that legitimately do not succumb to that social media itch, but the rest of you are probably thinking, “Me? An addict? What? No, definitely not.” Yeah, you! You’re in the same boat as everyone else…and here’s why:

1) The first thing you do in the morning is NOT brush your teeth (c’mon who were you trying to kid?), but instead wade through your Instagram. All of your favourite celebrities have left you filtered memoirs of their days (and dinners) and you aren’t moving that butt until you’ve seen it all. Scroll, double tap, scroll, scroll, double tap.

2) The same celebs will inspire you later to perfectly arrange your breakfast and Instagram it, and although it may not get the same response, you’re satisfied with the twelve ‘likes’ you’ve gotten.

3) Next on your daily checklist is eliminating all the red 1’s and 2’s floating above your apps. While at first they might thrill you, no one wants them hanging around for the rest of the day – you’ve got to make way for more.

4) The secondary activities that stem from step #3 may or may not involve tweeting, re-tweeting, re-pinning, liking everything on Facebook, or dropping a comment or two.

5) Various stages of your day will be documented through Snapchat in the form of selfies (post-shower, breakfast, lecture, gym – the list is endless).

6) And a picture of your latte may slide its way onto Instagram too. #whitegirlproblems.

7) You literally think in 140 characters all throughout the day. And more often than not, you will find yourself saying, “I’m going to tweet that!”

8)   “I’m sorry, I totally missed what you were saying but here’s something really funny on *insert name of social networking site*”.

9) You could respond entirely in memes instead of words because of your extensive knowledge of them.

10) Your followers to following ratio is something you secretly pride.

11) You can’t function without a charger, or an area that doesn’t have an electric outlet, because now anything you say happened in your day basically didn’t. No way to document it.