Last Tuesday I decided to go on a 1 week social media break to challenge myself and see how an absence of social media would contribute to my spiritual development. For the first couple days I found myself going through a withdrawal… I would constantly reach for my phone to realize that there was nothing on it for me to look at. Taking this break has allowed me to realize how much time I spend just aimlessly scrolling through instagram or closing & reopening snapchat to see if anything had changed from the last time I opened it. As the week progressed, I found myself feeling a lot happier knowing that I was accomplishing this goal that I had set. My mental health also got better because I was not comparing myself and my social life to others on social media, something that I had done a lot in the past. I am able to track my screentime on my phone and over the course of the week, my screentime decreased by 37%. I went skiing on Friday and I felt the need to post a photo but I wasn’t able to because I deleted instagram. Instead, I thought to myself “well why do I want to share with everyone that I am skiing? Is the world going to stop spinning if I don’t? No!”. This allowed me to re-evaluate why I think posting a photo every time I do something is necessary and if it’s actually worth my time. The only good thing that came from social media was when I lost my dog on Saturday morning. I decided to reinstall instagram to post a photo of my dog and help with the grieving process. From that post, many people reached out to me to express their condolences and it made me feel the tiniest bit better about losing her. Social media can be very toxic but it also makes the world a much smaller place and brings people together. I do plan on reinstalling most social media platforms after this week is over, and I will continue to use them. However, now I will be more conscious about the amount of time I spend on each of them and what I am using those apps for.

I encourage all of you to challenge yourself and give social media a break for a week. I believe that it will really open your eyes as to how much time you spend on social media, and what you can be doing otherwise to benefit your life.