So over the past weekend I lost my phone on a night out, and subsequently I lost my ease of access to social media. I didn't think me literally having no choice but not to use it would make me realise how much I craved for a break, but I really did. Like I said in my previous post, our relationship with social media in this current age is obsessive and borderline toxic depending on your approach to it. We feel like we need to document our every move, and that if we aren't constantly up too date with it all then we aren't content.
We all need a phone for obvious reasons, too keep in contact and to make sure we are safe. But social media is not a necessity you do not need it to complete your day, or to make sure your day is running smoothly that is a sign of addiction, and at the end of the day we are all addicted. We scroll and scroll for hours on end looking blankly at a screen rather than communicating with the people around us, when you take a step back and look at it - how horrific is that? On the night that I lost my phone I was upset yes but once I did everything I could to find it, I was actually pretty liberated the rest of the night. Me and my friend Keeli were dancing the night away, chatting with everyone not checking the time, just getting lost in the night. Instead of checking my phone for every buzz and notification, and thinking that I need to film and document the night, I just lived it. Lived it just for ourselves no one else, actually having those moments and memories that are just yours are actually precious and I think we all need to go back to experiencing things this way. Instead of always trying to prove to the online world that you had a good time through posed photos and false captions, actually enjoy yourself without feeling the need to validate yourself online.
A prime example of this is, when your at a gig or a festival what is one of the first things you think too do? Get out your phone and film it so you can post it on social media to show how much of a good time you had. How absolutely absurd? You see more of phone screens at gigs now more than the actual performance. I made a promise too myself about a year ago that I'm going to stop being one of those people, because it makes me so angry! How can you really enjoy the experience and immerse yourself in the magic of it all if your more focused on that perfect shot? The best gig I ever went too I didn't get my phone out once. It just goes to show that we care way too much about what others think of what we are doing and how we are perceived rather than just living and enjoying the moments that are so fleeting.
Not having social media made me pay more attention to the world around me, and the people in it. I had so many more social interactions with people, conversations that I probably wouldn't of had. I noticed a lot more of my surroundings, taking everything in rather than ignoring it. But at the same time I did feel a little lost, like out of the loop. I felt like I missed scrolling through my facebook feed or Instagram, but I didn't I was just that used to the routine that with it missing it didn't feel right. It has become such a huge part of our lives that when it is taken away your life feels so out of sync. I really did realise the damages of it, there is no need for us to be as attached to it as was are, not. at. all. Especially not when it is taking away from time spent with the people you love. On one of the days I was in town, and there was a couple sat together not saying a word, just both staring at their screens. Staring at something so meaningless when someone who is supposed to mean the world is sat right next too them. It made me so sad, I was sat with my parents and just thought Christ that would probably be me. I would be sat with two people that I hold dearest in the world and I would be interacting with something so fleeting when time with them is much more precious.
I love social media, but I hate what is doing to our society. The whole point of facebook was for better communication, how ironic now that people use it as a way to avoid physical interaction and communication. It shouldn't be taking away from human interactions, it should be enhancing it. Capturing moments you want to live forever, we should not be wasting precious time with people we love for the sake of a few likes or shares. I understand that it will always be a massive part of our society now, but I do think that we all need to have a little break sometimes. We need to learn when to put the phone down, we don't need to be on it as much as we are - it really isn't the be all and end all of our lives. Don't forget that we live in reality, not online. My new phone will be back up and running in a few days and I am making a promise to myself that I need to cut down my usage on social media, especially when I am out with friends or family. It is something that has been on my mind for a while, and it really shouldn't of taken me being forced not to use it to realise how much I am obsessed with it. In some ways I am glad I lost my phone, it has been a real eye opener, but we shouldn't all have too literally loose our phones for us to realise how much social media is effecting us. So every so often I think it's so healthy and important to just turn that data off and just enjoy life. Live it, take in everything around you and have it just for you. That absolute insanity that we all go through thinking that everything we do we have to document for the world too see is so unhealthy, and it takes away from the moment itself
I seem to be in such a conflicting love hate relationship with social media at the minute, but being forced to not be on it constantly has really changed my mindset towards it. Mostly Instagram, that's what I am most addicted too. To the point where my reality becomes less of a reality, but more like me trying to stage a instagramable perfect life. We are on this earth for such a short time, and our loved ones won't be there forever and wasting your time scrolling rather than appreciating life and it's company is so so sad. When you think about it, the fact that when we roll over in the morning the first thing most of us do is check all our notifications and do the obligatory scroll. For no reason other than habit, it has no real impact on our day. In some ways it is more likely to have a negative impact, filling our mind with all these false images of reality and then ultimately trying to make our day live up to that staged life. So that was my rant and clearly very conflicting feelings towards social media and our obsession with it. I really do think we need to be talking more openly about the fact that yes, we are all (or near enough all) addicted too social media, but you know how it goes as soon as the word addiction comes into play it all becomes a lot more taboo, and a much more touchy subject. I'm glad though that I am much more aware of the problem now, so I can finally do something about it.
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