The 48 Hour Challenge: Taking a Break from Social Media

    In Tammy Strobel’s article “A Magical Block of Time: Lessons Learned from my Digital Sabbatical”, Strobel challenges her readers to reflect on the benefits of taking time away from the online world and interacting with social media. In today’s ever connected world, it is becoming more and more common to spend as much time interacting with others online as it is in person. For instance, social media accounts for nearly 20% of time spent online in the US, according to Business Insider (Adler, 2016). Strobel emphasizes the importance of taking time to focus on the important aspects of life, including relationships, which for her requires a deliberate “stepping away” from the Internet in order to achieve a “magical block of time”.

    And so, I attempted to, as Strobel did, to remove myself from all social mediums for 48 hours – and failed miserably.

    In my own digital sabbatical experiences, I have found that it has become increasingly more difficult to achieve sustained abstinence from social media. This recent attempt to remove myself from social media for 48 hours was particularly tricky and I believe there are several factors that played into why.

    So why was this challenge so difficult for me? In the past when I had removed myself from social media, I was less connected to social mediums via my personal phone and other devices (as in, the technology I owned provided me less avenues to access social media). Now, not only do I own a smartphone, but also own an iPad, use a work device, and work on a computer daily for my current job. This makes sense, as studies have shown that social media is most often accessed via a mobile device. Strobel touched on why this “ready access” was an issue for me pretty accurately: “…when my writing projects got difficult or I started to feel insecure I had an urge to check my email or twitter. In some ways I think this behavior is a little like watching TV.” My abstinence experiment has taught me that I often use social media as a way to distract, to procrastinate, and most importantly to detach, even for a few minutes, in order to remove myself from the immediate and sometimes uncomfortable task at hand. Even now, as I write this blog post, I have checked my phone several times—perusing Instagram and Pinterest—before returning to writing. Social media can often serve as a balm to treat any uncomfortable feeling, even a feeling as seemingly insignificant as the discomfort of a writing block.

    I also believe that removing oneself from social media is becoming more difficult because there are so many popular social mediums available to a person. A social media website or app is only as strong as its user population, and with the increased numbers of people using social media globally, one is able to connect with more people via social media than ever before (Lee, 2015). When I stop using social media, I’m no longer just closing a door to communicate with some of my peers. My family members, my coworkers, my past teachers, my friends are all participating in online social interactions, and so, social media represents contact with all aspects of my social circle. Beyond the sheer volume of users, communication via social media has changed to include all types and ages of people who are using social media in a variety of different ways. The number of people participating in social media is only increasing. According to the BBC, by 2015, Facebook had over one billion people log on in a single day, with 1 in 7 people on Earth use Facebook to connect with others (Lee, 2015).

    I have found that even when I wish to take a break from social media, I am required to use it for work (this recently includes a social medium called Trello, which is a web-based project management tool where multiple users can contribute content to one project). Attempting to remove myself from these modes of interaction emphasized to me that I am (and society as a whole, I have observed) becoming increasingly more dependent on social media in order to communication – to anyone, no matter what their relationship is to me.

    I do not believe that a heavy reliance on social media is necessarily a bad thing. Social media connects our world on a more global scale, allows family and loved ones to stay close when physical proximity isn’t possible, and can expose a person to new ideas and ways of thinking or living. However, I do agree with Strobel that the practice of abstaining from social media to take time to reflect, build relationships in a tangible way, and to practice mindfulness, are invaluable habits to create in one’s life and in the lives of your family (that is, to teach one’s children to practice such intermittent abstinence). There is also very real evidence to suggest that engagement with social media can wreak havoc on one’s mental health, particularly children (Jameison, 2015) and that each individual should take measures to practice a healthy level of restriction. Dr. Cecile Andraessen and colleagues at the University of Bergen in Norway conducted a study on Facebook addiction and concluded that “people who are more anxious and socially insecure are more likely to use the social networking site.”(Whiteman, 2016).

    Finally, this experiment reminded me that using social media to constantly distract myself truly robs me from the human experience of being present. I love the quote Strobel includes in her article to highlight the beauty of the present moment: “Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the whole world revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment. Only this actual moment is life.” – Thich Nhat Hanh. I am quite determined to “fast” from social media in the future for this very reason – that the present moment is the basic building block of life, and that each moment should be treated with care and intention when decided how to spend it.


Sources:

Strobel, T. (2010, September). A Magical Block of Time: Lessons Learned from my Digital Sabbatical. Retrieved October 14, 2016, from http://www.rowdykittens.com/2010/09/a-magical-block-of-time/

Adler, E. (2016, July 07). Social media engagement: The surprising facts about how much time people spend on the major social networks. Retrieved October 15, 2016, from http://www.businessinsider.com/social-media-engagement-statistics-2013-12

Lee, D. (2015, August 28). Facebook has a billion users in a single day, says Mark Zuckerberg. Retrieved October 16, 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34082393

Jamieson, S. (2015, October 20). Excessive social media use harms children's mental health. Retrieved October 16, 2016, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/children/11943810/Excessive-social-media-use-harms-childrens-mental-health.html

Whiteman, H. (2015, June 10). Social media: how does it affect our mental health and well-being? Retrieved October 16, 2016, from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/275361.php