Social Media Ritual Analysis

I knew immediately that I wanted to give up social media for three days from the moment I read the details of the assignment. It was an easy choice for me because, it is something that I engage in every day. I am on my apps and my cell phone constantly. Perhaps even more than the average person should be. Checking my cell phone as I awake is a part of my morning ritual, and it happens subconsciously. I wake up in the morning and grab my phone to check Instagram and Facebook like it is the morning newspaper. The immediate need to “catch up” with my timeline takes over because I feel like I may have missed something through the night. There was definitely a lot of anxiety approaching the start of this 3 day cleanse of social media. So much so, …show more content…
I was determined to get through this process successfully and on the first attempt. I decided to give up social media during my work week so I had something to keep me busy. That first morning was somewhat hard because I normally look through my phone as a part of my morning ritual. It is just as important as having a morning cup of coffee. I did not give in and scroll through my timeline. I was able to make it out the house for work a few minutes early that morning. I guess giving up social media was all that bad. I had a busy day of work ahead and was hopeful that it would take my mind off of things. I really wanted to test myself to see if I could really make it three days social media free, so I decided not to delete my apps. I remained logged in so I could see the notifications come across my phone. There were many times that I wanted to pick my phone, but I did not cave in. I made it through day one social media free. It took a lot of meditation and breathing exercises to keep my anxiety down. Also, I realized I was able to lessen my workload more due to the free time normally used to browse through Facebook and …show more content…
Giving up social media for three days opened my eyes to the fact that it is an addiction for me, just as watching television is for others. I admit, my phone has become a major distraction at work as well as while I’m doing homework. I am over tasked at work to where I should not have time to answer a phone, let alone browse social media sites. Despite my busy work schedule and being in school, I find time to look through my phone. Even after realizing that social media has become an issue for me, I could not wait to check my phone again on the fourth day. I felt like I neglected my online friends and was out of the loop on current events. This is shameful for me to think about. This experiment has put many things into perspective for me. I must learn to prioritize the important things in my life, such as being an attentive mother and completing work and school tasks on time and more efficiently. Now I realize why there have been many occasions when I see friends announcing on Facebook and Instagram that they are going to either delete their account, or not log in for a while. I wish I would have done this experiment sooner. I never thought to do that myself, because I never realize how it interferes with my life until doing this experiment. Looking back, there were also times remember feeling emotionally and mentally drained after being on Facebook. Reading hateful comments and divisiveness in the world would at