As told by: Savanna Cowles (Who uses social media A LOT)

In a society that is obsessed with and addicted to social media, I wanted to take time away from them because socializing wasn’t always this way.

I took on the challenge of going a week without using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat over spring break.

To ensure that I wouldn’t be tempted to check each of my social media accounts, I deleted their apps from my phone. This way, they were less accessible and if I didn’t see them, I would be less inclined to use them.

The first two days of my isolation were the hardest. Spring break had begun and I was alone in my apartment. I had too much time and nothing to mindlessly fill it (a.k.a. endless scrolling). A sort of panic set in.

I reminded myself over and over that I didn’t want to see all the awesome places where people on my newsfeed were going. “What if something big happens and I miss it? I need to know what’s going on!” I thought to myself. I refocused my attention on homework instead. It was a rough two days.

Saturday rolled around and I rejoiced in the fact that I flew home that day. I would finally have human interactions that mattered and would see the people I loved! I sat at LAX bored out of my mind, wishing I could tag my location on Facebook to let my friends know I was coming home, but I resisted – only barely.

I took photos that I couldn’t share, went places I couldn’t tag and saw friends I couldn’t mention. How were people to know I was doing all these fun things if I couldn’t post them? Did they really even happen then?

Surprisingly, by the time I arrived at home, updating my social media sites was the least of my worries. I was busy doing life instead of just posting about it. I went out to eat, saw friends and family, went to a movie, shopped and watched cable TV (a luxury for me as a college student with no TV or Netflix account).

As much as I felt the urge to post a photo on Instagram of myself doing crafts with my friends, I didn’t. I almost caved in one day as I absentmindedly opened Facebook on my computer browser (a horrible habit I’m trying to quit). I realized what I had done and closed the screen before it loaded. This was a “challenge,” I reminded myself. I had made it four days and couldn’t just give up; I was stronger than that.

Impulses to check my newsfeed still plagued me the last three days, but they didn’t make me as panicky as during the first two days. I anticipated uploading my spring break pictures.

Spring break came to an end along with my social media absence. I lived without Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat for a week, and it was shamefully hard. I never realized how much I rely on social media to keep me in the loop until I went without them.