Sayonara Social Media

For months I've been toying with the idea of ridding my use of social media, but for some reason I could never bring myself to do so. I thought that this year I would give it up for Lent, but as my friend said today, "you should give it up when you're ready." And I'm ready.

In today's day and age, my generation is so caught up in social media it's unhealthy. Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, VSCO, Facebook, Tumblr, etc. have taken over our lives. We spend hours on end each day scrolling through feeds, comparing ourselves to others, trying to make our lives look perfect. Social media has created a world in which we seek each others approval and try to fit into a mold that we've created. Although there are positive aspects of social media, personally, the negatives tend to outweigh those. Scrolling through Instagram I see pictures of beauty and fitness gurus, celebrities, and even my friends who post "perfect" pictures that get hundred or thousands of likes and one of the first thoughts that pops into my head is, "Why do I not look like that?" Moving from picture to picture that question constantly comes back to haunt me. For many people my age this is a commonality. This empire of pure "perfection"has been built and discourages so many, but I've decided to not let it discourage me.

So starting tomorrow, for one week, I will be eliminating the apps Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and VSCO on my phone. I will be keeping Pinterest and Facebook as they don't contribute to my personal discouragement. This will be a true challenge for me, but in the end I hope to become more comfortable with the idea. I want to not worry about how many likes I get on my pictures. I want to live in the moment and appreciate my experiences as they are and not through a social platform. I want to read more books and make more puzzles. I want to foster a mindset that is healthy. I want to rediscover myself without societal standards. I want to focus on truly living my life.