More info on the influence of social media on girls specifically

I'm not the only obsessed one….

Final Post

I am so overly appreciative for the experience I have had throughout this week. I have learned so much about myself and my tendency. I will definitely take what I have learned and use it to improve myself. It's terrifying to think that I am one of many kids today who don't even realize quite how enveloped our brains are in social media. It's appalling to think that such a vapid thing could control our lives in such a way, but it does I spend my time, energy, and thoughts on social media. I guess that I am excited to be turning my Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Tumblr and Vine back on but I doubt that I will ever revert back to my old tendencies and obsessive behavior. I have this project to thank for that!

Day Seven

Today was the easiest day by far, I have spent my entire day with my family. I woke up really late which felt AMAZING. Then we ate french toast and went to Costco. My sister is in town and she is almost as obsessed with social media as I am (or was.)  So it's difficult around her but I'm able to give my undivided attention to my family which is nice because in a couple months I'm not going to be living with them anymore and the times we spend all together will be very rare, so I had better take advantage of them while I can. My parents are very proud of me for not having gone on social media all week, they are really happy I chose this topic, they clearly thought I had a problem…. and I probably did. We went on the boat and I barely looked at my phone. My sister and I played some corn hole and went for a run. I had a really fun day and I probably wouldn't have appreciated this day as much if I had been scrolling through what everyone else was saying, thinking and doing on Twitter, Instagram, Snap chat or Facebook.

Day Six

I found out on Saturday that it is much more difficult to avoid going on social media during the weekend. I was tempted by so many things, especially my boredom. At the girls soccer game, literally everyone was on their phones scrolling through twitter and instagram. I actually got the opportunity to watch the game, unlike a lot of people.

Day Five

I'm beginning to realize how little this influences my life. I really don't need social media. On day 5 I had a relatively busy day so it honestly helped my day seem easier to handle. I didn't see how social media made my day unnecessarily stressful until I gave it up, because it just consumed my time. Now I have time, even on busy days, to exercise, clean my room better, or study more. This may have been one of the more productive weeks of my life and I owe that to my lack of social media. Perhaps next year when I'm having a stressful week like finals week or something I will give up social media again so that I can focus like I have this week.

Day Four

On my fourth day a couple of "exciting" things were happening on social media and I had to ask my friends about them and was sent screenshots. It's sad how often social media is my topic of discussion with everyone, it's such a vapid and substance-less thing to discuss. I see that my life truly revolved around social media before, and grew increasingly disappointed in myself. I am so glad that I have done this project, I have clearly needed a wake up call. Especially before I go to college. I complain about not having my social media a lot I've noticed. I'm probably getting annoying, but a lot of people pity me and say they could never do what I am doing. It's not only sad how dependent I am on social media but also how dependent everyone else is. I hope that they get a reality check as well because I'm starting to see how detrimental my use of social media was to my social skills, school work, and family life.

Day Three

On my third day I became a bit more accustomed to life without social media. I still had to endure some awkward moments that I would usually fill with some time on Twitter or Snapchat however, I no longer have withdrawals from my social media app's and check to see if they are there. It's sad that it taken me this long to adjust. I got so bored at one point that I attempted to strike up a conversation with my mother over texting. I sent her five texts in a row and she responded with "Ok."….. I was clearly becoming desperate. I never realized quite how often I was wasting my time on social media until doing this project. I must have started becoming obsessed with social media within the past two years because the summer between my sophomore and junior year I went on Teens Westward Bound and had no issue without my phone or the internet. It's definitely opened my eyes. I need to calm down and get off of social media more often.

Day Two

I wasn't quite sure whether I could struggle any more than I did the first day of living without Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or Pinterest. However, I once again surprised myself. I realized on this day that I have almost a perfect routine, when it comes to my social media schedule. At the end of every class when the teacher was done I sat there not sure what to do with myself because usually I would be scrolling through either Twitter or Instagram. Whenever I was in one of these situations I would try to talk to some of the people around, when I found that everyone else was on their own social media websites. A few people even seemed shocked by my attentiveness. This definitely made me reevaluate myself. I always scoffed and shrugged off comments on how social media is destroying our generation's social skills but now I have never agreed with something more. I felt uncomfortable in social situations that I should not feel uncomfortable in and one's that you should have to learn to cope with to function socially in society.

Day One

On Sunday night at exactly 12AM I deleted my Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest app's off of my phone for my Week of Living Project. I was ashamed by how sad and difficult it was for me to delete the app's even for just one week. On Monday I repeatedly swiped my phones screen instinctively  and was far too disappointed when I remembered that I no longer had any social media apps. I was so disappointed in myself when I realized how often I must have checked these apps based on how many times I accidentally checked for them. I found myself with an abundance of free-time which lead me to reading the newspaper, getting my homework done earlier than usual, actually responding to my friends texts, and unfortunately wonder what I was missing on social media. I didn't realize how much willpower this would take but I am definitely struggle and I find it really sad that I'm struggling with such a seemingly simple task.