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Could you go an hour without checking Insta? How about an entire week? TBH, the thought of it makes us break out in a cold sweat. But there’s an increasing movement of young people who are embracing JOMO – the joy of missing out – and are actually loving life without social media. So we decided to find out more.
If you’re anything like us, you’re guilty of scrolling through your phone without even noticing what you’re looking at, or opening Insta instead of studying. We get it. Social media is srsly addictive! But what’s the downside?
Here are a few ways you can figure out if it’s taking over your life.
1. You check Insta before you get out of bed in the morning.
2. If you wake up in the middle of the night you watch the latest vids on Snapchat.
3. You refresh your Insta pics to check the number of likes and delete them if you don’t get enough.
4. You spend hours deciding on captions for your posts.
If you answered yes to these questions, you’re prolly spending too much time on your socials.
Living disconnected
We spoke to Georgie Desailly who gave up social media and actually loves it!
“I am your typical 16-year-old girl – a current Riverdale addict, boy-crazed, and trying to navigate life in the adolescent years. And August marked the one-year anniversary since I said goodbye to social media and I’ve never been happier! I did have almost everything, ranging from Instagram to Snapchat to Tumblr. Hitting high school just like every other teenager in my grade, I was the biggest social- media addict. I snapped up a photo opportunity every chance I got, taking a gazillion selfies just to get the right one in the correct lighting to post. Each morning I would wake up and jump straight on my phone and then repeat this process before bed. Eventually, I was spending hours and hours a week obsessing over my feed and trying to come up with catchy bios. I didn’t just wake up one day and delete all my accounts, but I did come to a realisation that I had seriously become disconnected from the world. I was online so much that I would only see my family at dinner and aside from school would only talk to my friends online. I arrived at school one day and for the first time just saw everything for what it was, everyone with their head downs on their phones, texting people who were literally across the room. That day, I decided I would try a detox from all social media for a few days. I had such a sense of freedom and I wanted that feeling to continue. That eventually led me to challenge myself to see how long I could hold off, and I found that I was trying new activities that I never would have considered before. After a few weeks I decided to let myself back on but I was barely using it and decided to deactivate my accounts! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying social media is bad, because it’s hard feeling like the last person in the world to find out about Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan’s break-up. But ultimately, in the long run, it is so worth it. I have found out who my true friends are (even if it’s a pain for them to have to call me). You may be thinking = how are you meant to stalk the ex and his new gf? (Well, I didn’t say that this was perfect…) As for dating, looks like I am going to have to endure the good old-fashioned awkward IRL encounters. But as cliché as it sounds, I really am just myself now, no smoke, no mirrors. Just me.”
Unsocial celebs
These celebs have never had a presence on social media – and they don’t plan to!
1. Jennifer Lawrence
“I’ll never get Twitter. If you ever see a Facebook or Instagram or Twitter that says it’s me, it’s not me.”
2. Emma Stone
“It seems like everyone’s cultivating their lives on Instagram or on different forms of social media, and what pictures look best of their day.”
3. Daniel Radcliffe
“There are people I enjoy on Twitter but I don’t know why anyone in my position would ever be on it.”
How to cut down
Social media is awesome, but if it’s taking over your life, here are ways to cut back.
1. Try using the Insta time limit feature. You can now track how long you’re using the platform for and log out once you’ve hit the daily limit you set yourself.
2. Leave your phone on the charger when you get home and only look at it after dinner.
3. Turn off push notifications so your phone isn’t constantly buzzing when you post a fire snap. Then check it in your own time.
4. Delete or unfollow anyone who makes you feel jealous, annoyed or angry. Stop comparing yourself to others and make it a more positive experience – and more fun!
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