I’m not sure about you, but I think I use my phone too much, and that’s something I’d like to change.
I find myself constantly checking my phone in my free time. If I’m waiting for a friend to come or at a doctor’s appointment, I’ll likely go on my phone and scroll through Facebook or Instagram or my email. It’s become second nature to simply pick up my phone and scroll through something.
Granted, I want to stay up to date with people and my friends (but also believe there are many other ways to:)), but in my spare time I want to turn to a book or reflect or feel God’s presence, rather than simply turning to sort of mindlessly scrolling through social media on my phone. I think, for some reason, I sometimes yearn for some sort of news from friends or a club or someone; I often like hearing a ding and having a message to respond to. I think in some ways, I’m even looking for some sort of fulfillment through social media as I mindlessly pick up my phone yet again. (And I don’t like this and want to change it!)
So, this month, I decided to take a break from social media for a month (and with a friend who also wants to do this!). I deleted facebook, instagram (other than the gloriouslane instagram but I only use that to post for this blog:)), and snapchat from my iPhone. Granted, I do check Facebook on my laptop, but much less, and mainly because of club event and general event notifications. I have done “social media cleanses” so-to-speak, and they have been really refreshing and nice, but I have never done this for a whole month.
Today is only day six, but I can say I already feel more present in my interactions and have been using my phone less. The other day, I got the notification on my iPhone that my screen time usage decreased that week; while it was far from the average number of hours I want to be using my phone in a day, I smiled at how I had improved and how now, I often do not look at my phone for long periods of time (and it feels so good!), as I truly just want to be present in the moment with the people I’m with.
In general, I think I’ve reflected a lot more on social media over the years as well. I have a lot of thoughts, and I wanted to take a bit of time to share some here (definitely not all, but a couple):
I think we often hear that people put their best selves online, and I think it is true that people tend to share ups rather than downs; while I think it’s good to be optimistic and have good times to look back at and realize that we are loved and we love others (as people connect through social media and comment), at the same time, I don’t think a simple comment or reactions shows all of the world’s love. Over time, I have realized how much quality time matters to me. In terms of the five love languages, I used to think I was big on giving love and receiving love in terms of words of affirmation and acts of service (and I still think I am); however, I realized that words of affirmation have so much more meaning if I actually spend quality time with someone. I think I’ve just really appreciated the value of quality time more over the years, especially as people get busier and busier and everyone has so much they’re doing in college.
I also think I, like many other college students likely, struggle with FOMO (fear of missing out) quite a bit, and I think social media can sort of add to this as we see people going to different restaurants and doing things with friends. It’s also easy to sometimes see someone posting on their instagram story about how they hung out with someone else and feel a bit left out. I think I realized this and so I try to be more conscious about what I put on my story (I think I just ask myself a bit more like why I want to put this on my story and how other’s might feel). I know, at the same time, that I likely overthink about this a bit, but these are just some of my thoughts.
In addition, when I did have instagram, one thing I realized I wanted to focus on was the depth of the post over simply a nice looking aesthetic post with a quirky caption (I do appreciate these too though). I think Adam Grant once tweeted something about like not perpetuating the cycle and rather focusing on sharing things with meaning/ideas (I can’t remember the exact tweet since I saved it on my instagram account). I think I agree in many ways, and believe social media can really be harnessed for good, but it just depends on how we approach it and use it.
I also think I can get so nervous about posting on social media and I don’t think that’s too good. I believe I could be a lot more mature about my social media usage, so I’m super happy that I’m doing this “social media cleanse.”
In general, I think social media definitely has a lot of pros and cons, and I think what’s important is how we view it and how we use it. For now, I’m super excited about this “social media cleanse” and to use my phone less (I have also done methods in the past I think where I only check at certain times). I will likely reflect more on this at the end of the month, whether through a blog or on my own. But here’s to living in the moment and using our phones less! :)
Saved by grace, through faith.
With love,
Joyce
Bible Verse Connection: “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5 I was searching for some verses online and found this one and really liked it. :) I think of how just scrolling mindlessly and overusing my phone is not really a “plan”/a very good idea. (But being intentional about not using or only using my phone at certain times is more of a plan.) And in general, I think as break wraps up and I have a lot I want to do, I find myself hearing God speak to me through this verse.
P.S. This picture is from before senior year of high school when my friend and I did a little photoshoot walk! I find it a very ~reflective~ photo heh. :’)
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