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Showing posts from April, 2024

Entry 3 (Concluding Thoughts)

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 In conclusion, I found it difficult to stay off of social media for the few days I fasted it. I found myself using other apps I would not normally use as much, such as email and even certain games I had forgotten I had on my phone. I even found myself deleting certain messages and photos, just to pass the time while still being on my phone. What I was surprised I missed the most was going on Instagram. Even though I barely use it during the day, sometimes for as little as 15 minutes, I found myself missing looking at my friends feeds, what they were up to, what they were posting, what music they were listening to, etc. So many of my friends from high school, for example, tend to be out of state, so social media is a way for me to reach them from a distance. Surprisingly, what I missed the least was my most used social media app: TikTok. Even just getting back onto it after the fast, I was disappointed to be back on it again. I had so much built up anticipation to see the logo ligh...

Entry 2 (Day Two of the Fast): The Implications

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 Unfortunately, I believe I do have a sort of addiction to social media. During the fast, I found an example of this. I found myself wanting to scroll on TikTok or Instagram, and since I could not, I would instead go on other websites in an attempt to scroll. If anything, I actually cheated a bit, being as I began excessively checking my Email, just so I could scroll! The sensation of scrolling and anticipation led me to find myself reading the same email headings over and over again, refreshing my feed even though my email was generally only flooding with ads, promotions, and other general scams. Nothing really all that interesting was happening, not for simply 48 hours. Sure, a few emails and announcements from my professors came in to my school email, but as for my person email, there was nothing overly alarming.      I think my life with or without social media would have some easier and harder aspects. I think social media makes it easier to feel relevant becaus...

Entry 1 and Introduction

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Introduction:  I have known social media can be a destructive outlet since I was about twelve years old. What started as an effort to 'fit in' with my fellow classmates by creating an instagram, turned into a lifelong addiction to scrolling, reposting, and comparing to the figures that come across my screen. For this assignment, myself and my fellow classmates were asked to complete a social media blackout, from Wednesday, March 27th at 10pm, to Friday, March 29th at 10pm. While this may seem like an easy enough task at first glance, it grew difficult as time went on. Difficult because of the urge to grab and scroll, to slide into the next post, the next video, the next comment. Being mindful of avoiding social media was frustrating at times, as it is so ingrained into my daily routine. When I would first wake up in the morning, I would immediately open social media platforms, anxious to see what I had missed while I was unplugged. Nonetheless, this experience helped to challen...