Media, technology & society (MTS): studies the impact of our media and technology environment

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Before

Grace: I do not think it will be that much of a challenge as I constantly take social media “breaks” now and then. From prior experience, I know I will be constantly checking my phone even though there are no notifications to respond to and will feel like I am missing out on something happening even though I am involved in what people are posting about. 

Eve: I think that it may be a bit challenging. I feel like I will always be checking my phone to see if I have notifications, but will quickly adjust to the fact that they won’t be there. I never really think about how big of a role social media plays in my day to day life, so it will definitely take some adjusting to get used to. However, I do think that it will be a good break and make me realize that at the end of the day, it isn’t that big of a deal if I’m not on social media for a few days. 

Jake: I think that going without social media will be fairly easy for me. While I find myself checking my phone many times throughout the day, going without social media will give me a nice break from using my phone for unimportant reasons. I also think I will be more engaged in conversations with my peers and contribute more to conversations because I will not be thinking about social media.​

​Caroline: I think that going without social media will be a struggle for me. I feel as though I subconsciously just go on social media to pass the time in my day. When I consciously go on social media, it is to I connect with my friends who are far away at other schools, and just to keep me updated on whats going on in other peoples lives. When it comes to focusing on other things, I think that it will help be more attentive in class and while doing homework, because sometimes I just grab my phone without even meaning to. 

During

Grace: I keep unlocking my phone as if I need to check something even though I do not. I noticed that without social media to check, unlocking my phone has become a habit. Whenever something funny happened I felt the need to take a snapchat of it and post it but when I unlocked my phone and realized I did not have the app, I got frustrated because I wanted to capture the moments at least for my own memories. I also noticed that snapchat is a huge form of communication for high school and college kids so without it, I feel like I’m missing out on something. 
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Eve: To help with the cleanse, I deleted all the apps that were considered “social media” because I knew that I would be tempted to go on it anyways. I found myself always checking my phone for notifications, or new posts from my friends. I definitely found myself going on my phone more than I would have if I had social media because I was constantly checking for notifications. Since there are only a few people that I actually text, It felt like something was missing due to the fact that I wasn’t talking to everyone that I usually talk to every day. 
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Jake: During the social media cleanse I noticed many things. First, I noticed that checking these social media apps was habitual. Reaching for my phone was something that I did regularly, not because I had a reason to check it but because I am so used to checking it that it is a habit to reach for it. Although, with these social media applications deleted, I had less to check. The only notifications I was receiving were text messages and emails. I noticed that when there was a break in the conversation, that is when I would find myself reaching for my phone. 

Caroline: In order to avoid picking up my phone at random times, I put it on Do Not Disturb, silencing all the notifications I would get from my social media outlets. I soon realized that I would still pick up my phone, despite not getting any ding or vibration from a notification. I then moved onto deleting all the apps I gravitated towards, Instagram, Snapchat, ect. This obviously helped me not use them because they were off my phone, but I still found myself stuck in the habit of grabbing my phone at any point during the day. I eventually stopped grabbing from my phone as the hours in the days passed, but in the mornings, it would still be the first thing I gravitated towards. 

After

Grace: I enjoyed time away from social media but I noticed things that I am used to doing while the apps were deleted from my phone. For example, I realized I can go without Instagram but most likely not Snapchat because I like to save memories from nights out and look back on them. In addition, Snapchat is an easy source of communication for college kids so I felt as though I missed out on communication with friends for plans and also could not keep in touch with friends I wouldn’t call day to day. On a positive note, my screen time day to day went down by 30% which is huge and I noticed that without the distraction of social media where I log in and spend an hour mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, I can get my work done faster and be more productive. 

Eve: As I thought it would be, the cleanse was pretty hard for me. I noticed how dependant I am on my phone and social media apps, which is sad to think about but the reality of society today. The app that affected me the most not using was Snapchat. I use Snapchat all day as a way to communicate with people who I do not text on the daily. Not only do I use it for communication, I also use it to see what other people’s plans are, from viewing their stories. Although it was hard to not use social media, I realized how much more focused it made me, and it made me really live in the moment which was good timing because it was parents weekend. I spent much less time wasting my day just sitting on my phone wasting the day which was a good feeling. It was a good thing to experiment with, and I am happy I did the cleanse, but I definitely don’t think I would want to make it a recurring thing.

Jake: After the cleanse, I realized that checking the applications on my phone was a habit. Once I actually clicked on the apps, I would stay a long time on them and check what people were up to and communicate with my friends. However, with the way our generation uses social media it was harder for me to communicate with certain people because the only way we communicate is through one of these social media apps. Reflecting back on the cleanse, I was surprised at how many times I caught myself reaching for my phone to check notifications from Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media apps that I use.

​Caroline: After completing the cleanse, I saw the impact social media had on my everyday life. Not only do I go on it to stay up to date with news and my friends, I realized how much I will just grab my phone and subconsciously go on it, without needing a notification to catch my eye. I liked the cleanse, it helped me focus more on conversations and school work. It also made me realize how much my peers were drawn to their phones and social media. I would see them continue to grab their phone while I was talking to them, and quickly realized how awkward I felt, knowing I wasn’t going to grab my phone and stop talking to them. Overall, this social media cleanse showed me a lot about the impact apps and communication with others had on my life, and how a cleanse once and a while is a good thing. 

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Question + Answer:

- Did the cleanse make you want to continue going on without social media?
- What differences did you notice when communicating with people during the cleanse?
- How many times a day do you notice yourself mindlessly checking your phone? 
- What apps do you use for form of communication that you did not realize? 
- Which app was the hardest to be without?