Tales from My Digital Detox
By Lukas O.
In 5th grade, heeding the requests of my peers, I downloaded both Instagram and Snapchat the moment I got my first phone. I was blown away by the amount of stuff that I could now do, between sharing images from my life with others and being a part of grade-wide Snapchat group chats, I felt like this was a world that I had been missing out on for years. The downside is that I found myself scrolling pointlessly during my free time, ultimately leading to decreased productivity and a general feeling of discontent when I wasn’t using social media. In 9th grade, I discovered the term “FOMO” (Fear Of Missing Out) and its direct relationship with social media usage, where a user often feels left out of what other people are doing if they don’t check their social media. I remember a time when everyone in my class was talking about someone’s new Instagram post which they had seen before the school day, but since I wasn’t allowed to check my phone during the day I felt left out of conversations until I got home and checked my Instagram to see what I had been missing out on. As such, when I heard this definition, I realized that I was the textbook example of someone with FOMO and that I should take a break from these platforms.
The action of intentionally not interacting with social media is commonly referred to as a “digital detox,” which can come in many different forms, from simply putting time limits on digital media usage to completely uninstalling the relevant apps.
When it came to my digital detox, I figured I should go big or go home. I uninstalled both Instagram and Snapchat cold turkey. At first, I didn’t feel anything other than a bit of pride in my ability to get rid of the two biggest time sinks in my life, especially when my friends responded by saying “I’m really happy for you, but I could never do that.” However, within a couple of days, I began to notice some side effects. I realized that I instinctively opened up my phone and clicked on the spot that the Snapchat app had been for years, only to end up opening the weather app that had filled its space. I frequently opened my phone throughout the day looking for Snapchat and Instagram notifications to entertain me, only to remember that I had deleted both apps. The real kicker came when others would ask me if I had seen someone’s recent post. These moments of social discomfort made me rethink the whole detox thing. Luckily, I pushed through the awkward first few weeks and I was able to get rid of my scrolling cravings and overcome my fear of missing out.
With global conflicts occuring and political tensions on the rise, the effect of social media on my peers cannot be overstated. The large majority of conversations between people my age about these events refer to sources from social media, with almost all of their information on the topics being taken directly from these platforms, impacting their opinions on situations and possibly giving them only one side of the story. As a result of my digital detox and the awareness it has brought me, I have learned to take everything I see on social media with a grain of salt, a skill that is becoming more relevant by the day. While I may have been skeptical about digital detoxes before I embarked on mine, I can say with certainty that it helped me regain so much time, focus, and energy that I can place into other areas of my life.
After first uninstalling the social media apps, I have only reinstalled Snapchat so that I can communicate and deepen bonds with my friends, but I severely limit the amount of time that I can spend on the platform. I believe that it’s important to understand that social media can have hugely positive benefits on our lives, and by finding a way to utilize these platforms in a way where we control them, not the other way around, we can learn and educate ourselves through digital media. Throughout this digital detox, I learned the importance of self-accountability and willpower, which were vital to making the detox succeed. Without those valuable skills, there is nothing stopping you from overriding your app time limits or simply re-installing social media whenever you want.
Would I recommend a digital detox to others? The answer: it really depends on you. If you are someone who naturally manages their social media time very well, then it may not be necessary. But if you find yourself becoming lost in the sea of unlimited online content, then it may be best for you to uninstall social media or even just test the waters with a less extreme version of my method.
About the author:
Lukas is a 15 year old young person living in New York City attending boarding school in New Hampshire. They have one older brother and a poodle named Leopold, and some of their hobbies include reading and writing.