Hey guys. I’m Zainab, and here’s something you should know about me: I’m the kind of person who checks their social media every five minutes.
Even if I don’t get a notification, am I still going to check my Instagram? Hell yeah. So when my friend told me about how she wanted me to try a social media cleanse with her I was like hell nah, but she kind of forced me into it. To sum it all up briefly, these five days were
a) tough
b) challenging (same as tough?)
c) hella weird
d) kinda innovative.
I’ll spare you the boring bits and highlight the important stuff. Like the fact that I probably nearly backed out about six million times each day. But chalo, without further ado, here’s a breakdown of everything noteworthy hat happened:
Day One
Day one was the hardest. It started off with a sense of overconfidence. I was like, “I am so ready for this, this won’t even be that hard.” However, that changed soon enough. These were just some of the countless thoughts running through my mind moments after:
“Did I really go out to have lunch if I didn’t Snapchat it?”
“DO NOT CHECK INSTAGRAM”
“Does Netflix count as social media?”
Needless to say, I was in trouble.
Day Two
Turns out, waking up without an alarm on your phone isn’t a walk in the park. Also, you know how you check social media like a newspaper? Yeah, I couldn’t do that. Felt so incomplete. Moreover, friends would come and ask me if I’d seen the meme they tagged me in. No Eman, I didn’t check what you tagged me in. But thanks for the FOMO.
However, I did take out my old sketchbooks. Sketched after a whole year. Wow, that felt good.
Day Three
I think at this point my parents were worried about me. I was interacting more and actually indulging in conversations instead of being glued to my phone. It almost seemed like I was catching up with my family. Lol.
Did I wonder if my followers thought I was dead? Of course. However, I was also pleasantly surprised by how quickly I’d get studying for tests wrapped up. I would be tempted every now and then to pick up my phone and immerse myself in the world of social media. That’s when I realized how obsessed I was with the virtual world.
Day Four
MAJOR FOMO. The hardest. So close, yet so far. I felt like I was in a cave. What was even going on in the world anymore? Were Ranveer and Deepika getting married or not? Were Virushka having a baby? How much have I missed?
On the other hand, I got through an entire novel. So, yay?
Day Five
I low key snarled at people using their phones. Ugh, people were so obsessed with their phones, right? Hadh hai. Anyway, I looked at the sky a lot. It felt comforting that it was the last day of this social media cleanse. However, I also felt relaxed. But then I started panicking over whether or not people would be weirded out if I liked posts they put up five days ago.
As the day went by, I had my eyes glued to the clock. As the day neared its end, I felt lighter. I’d be reunited with my phone soon. Soon, I could tweet about how terrifying the cleanse was. WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram – they seemed like distant friends I’d be meeting after a LONG time.
At the end of it all, am I actually going to never use social media again because I feel so inspired? Probably not.
But, I am going to definitely end up using it a lot less. I never actually realized how much I use social media, and how much not using it actually affects my life in a positive manner. You definitely don’t have to quit social media, but taking a break time-to-time actually re-connects you to your surroundings. Try a social media cleanse with your friends.
