Ok so I have to admit and confess that the ONLY requirement for this assignment that I did not meet was the NO TEXTING portion. I just couldn't do it! When all of your girlfriends rely on you to make Saturday night plans, it is very difficult to ignore their text messages and pick up the phone instead. I remember the days when you had to call each individual friend several times just to get plans in order. Now you can text several people at the same time and figure out plans in a matter of minutes and with little effort. Honestly, I knew going into this assignment that refraining from texting was going to be nearly impossible, and it wasn't just nearly impossible, it was very much impossible. It is pretty sad that I almost feel rude if I call someone instead of just texting them back. Our society has become so removed from personal communication and instead, relies heavily on digital communication. Whether it is through instant messaging on Facebook, sharing your every move on Twitter, or texting back on forth for an hour just to tell one story, our society, especially the younger generation, has become dependent on social media and digital communication. By the time you see one of your friends in person; they already know everything that happened to you this past week thanks to texting, as well as your participation in social media sites.
I'll start explaining my 24 hour social media hiatus by talking about how I completely forgot I was even participating in it! My normal Saturday morning routine is to sleep in and while still laying in bed, I reach over to pick up my phone and begin checking my several social media sites. About a minute into my routine yesterday morning, it dawned on me that I had ALREADY broken the rules and it was only 8:30AM. So I got off of Facebook and decided that I would start my 24 hour hiatus at 8:32AM. As I mentioned earlier, texting is the only thing I could not refrain from and I am actually pretty proud of that. Not checking Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter proved to be pretty challenging, but not impossible. It made me realize how often I check those social media sites more out of boredom than accessory. When my phone or iPad is lying right next to me, it is very tempting to just pick it up and browse. On Saturday, while sitting on the couch and watching football, I had to force myself to ignore the fact that my phone was taunting me and begging me to break my hiatus. Somehow I managed to ignore it during the day and it really wasn't all that difficult. Saturday night however was a lot more challenging. I went bowling with a few other couples and of course the entire time all the girls wanted to take pictures and immediately put them on Instagram. This is something that I too would normally take part in, but on this particular day I had to actually take pictures and NOT do anything with them afterwards. Honestly, I think that was the most difficult part of the day. I view Facebook the most and spend more time on it, browsing and "stalking" friends, but I actually participate in Instagram frequently and enjoy taking pictures.
After all was said and done, and my 24 hour hiatus was up, I checked all the social media sites that I use and realized that I missed absolutely nothing. Those 24 hours I felt like I was missing out on something or was removed from a majority of the world, but when I re-entered that world this morning, I realized that it had been just fine without me and I had been just fine without it. However, I don't think I will be giving any of it up anytime soon! I like feeling connected and I enjoy getting a glimpse into other people's lives, therefore even though viewing Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter isn't a necessity, I will continue to indulge in all of them!
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