There is a certain image of teenagers that adults love to talk about. A few kids are out to eat, and while they wait for their meals, they don’t talk to each other. The air is stiff and silent as they’re entranced by a tiny screen resting in their palms. They live in a world obsessed with having everything at their fingertips. A world where if they want something, they get it now. A world driven mad with wonder about what’s next. Talking is slow; it keeps them in the moment. Instead, they fill their waiting time with social media.
I had an idea: I wanted myself and three other people to remove all social media from our lives for one week to see what would happen. It's one thing to see how I react, which I have done in the past. However, everyone comes from different backgrounds and has different lives, so seeing how several people deal with the same limitations really interested me. When I asked a few of my friends if they wanted to help me out with a social media experiment, they were eager to volunteer. But once they realized what this really meant, they were dying to find loopholes. I was asked many questions such as “Can we directly Snapchat people and not look at stories?” or “Can we use Facebook messenger?” I answered most questions with "No." Of course, everyone was worried sick about their precious Snapstreaks. Quite honestly, I was shocked at how much they cared about little things like that.
I began by conducting a preliminary survey. I wanted to get a feel for everyone’s expectations, their opinions of social media, how often they use it, etc. I discovered that all participants use social media every day, multiple times a day. Yet, only 1 out of 4 believed they were addicted to social media. It’s almost as if constant online interaction has morphed from a source of entertainment to a way of life.
During the experiment, I measured overall stress levels, homework efficiency, and frequency of urges to use social media. Half of the participants dealt with anxiety, and their stress levels either dropped or stayed the same over the course of the experiment. However, the other two participants' stress levels pretty much stayed the same, and even heightened at times. This is interesting, because it suggests that social media may serve as a source of stress for those with anxiety, but a source of relaxation for those without anxiety. All of us found that we were either as efficient or more efficient with homework. Most of us were very productive at the beginning of the experiment. As time went on, we found new ways to procrastinate to fill the void that social media left. However, this does provide evidence that, to some extent, social media distracts many from homework and leads to a lack of general productivity. The general consensus about urges was fairly logical. We all wanted to use social media more at the beginning, and then as we adapted, the need was less frequent.
The first few days, I noticed that the urges I experienced to go on social media were compulsive. It wasn’t as if the thought “I want to go on Instagram” popped into my head. Instead, my finger would idly drift to where my social media apps normally were, only to find nothing there. This happened often. Strangely enough, one other participant experienced the same exact thing. We didn’t even have a reason or desire to use social media; it was just mere habit at that point.
Overall, everyone agreed that the experience was positive. Some expected an extremely stressful week brimming with deprivation. Others expected an enlightening, peaceful week. What we found was more intermediate. I think the fact that we went in together made everything much easier. Peer pressure plays a big role in social media use; if everyone else is on a phone, chances are you will pull yours out too. Knowing that we weren’t alone and that we could share our experiences with each other kept us going. I’m not even sure if we go on social media because we like it any more. Are we just doing what is expected of us?
I, and the others, all agree that teenagers should try this. It’s an interesting opportunity to learn more about yourself, and a time to discover if social media is really as vital to your life as it seems.
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