My Week-long Adventure Without Social Media.

By: Dejon Virgo

This is how people feel when pressured by all the major social media outlets surrounding them. (Credit: Dailyillini.com)

Social media plays a big role in our society today. With the creation of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media platforms, it seems like our society has become dependent on these social media outlets to function.

I use social media pretty often and it got me thinking: what would happen if I cut off social media for a week? Can I survive it? Well, I put myself to the test and cut off all social media from my life for a week.

Starting on November 17th, 2018 until November 24th, 2018, I used no social media of any kind. The first day was pretty easy because I thought one day won’t kill me, but the challenge was remembering Facebook was a no-go in the morning.

In the morning, the first thing I usually do is turn on my phone and check on Facebook for notifications and messages. I had the urge to go on Facebook when I remembered the challenge and stopped myself from opening the app and the rest of the day went by pretty smoothly.

The second day was even more challenging because it was my birthday and I was getting notification after notification saying, “Happy Birthday!” but I couldn’t say anything back unless they texted me directly or called me.

I had to text my friends on my phone to tell them about the challenge I was doing and the first thing they said was that I was crazy.

Then they laughed, but I reminded them it was test for myself and because it was my birthday, they had to be nice to me. The rest of the day went by like a breeze because I hung out with my friends and went to Dave & Buster’s, spending most of the day winning toys and candy distracted me from even thinking about social media.

The third day I almost caved in because I wanted to get updated about Ariana Grande on Instagram because she is my favorite artist and I follow everything she does.

Good thing I had my friend with me, because she basically took my phone from me for the whole day because our last class ended at 8 PM. I got a grip on myself and I turned off my phone until the next morning.

The fourth day I turned on my phone in the morning but I couldn’t do much because all I do is go on social media and it had been three days since I had last seen Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. I decided to turn off my phone for the whole day because I didn’t want to lose the challenge. I only had three more days until I could complete the challenge.

The fifth day I had kept my phone off until I made it to class where my friend opened my social media for me and told me what was on my news feed on Facebook and Instagram. I told him to check out Ariana Grande’s Instagram to see what she posted.

She posted that she was releasing a video for her new single “thank u, next.” The rest of the day was fine because I already had a little bit of an update without going on social media.

The sixth day I felt bittersweet because I wanted to go on social media so badly, but I realized that I only had until Saturday morning to finish the challenge. I kept telling myself that I was almost there and I shouldn’t give up.

This day was Thanksgiving and I had a lot to cook with my grandma because she likes it when I help her. My family is big so we cooked a lot of food and that kept me busy for the whole day.

The seventh day was pretty easy because I ate so much the day before that I didn’t want to move that whole day, but what really kept me from breaking was that I told myself I only had 24 hours until I could go on social media and start posting again. So, I was able to relax.

Finally, the next day had come when I was able to go on social media and the first thing I did was go on Instagram where I saw Ariana Grande on Instagram posting photos from the her “thank u, next” video.

In the end, I kind of did go crazy. I was wondering why because it’s only social media, but this challenge made me realize that I should try to stay off social media more so I’m not dependent on it.

However, I do recommend everyone gives this a try to see if you are addicted to social media or not.