Op-Ed: By chance or by choice, we should take a step away from social media and pay mind to the real world

by CLAIRE MARSHALL WATKINS

Opinion Editor

I deactivated my Instagram accounts in mid February. A week later I got a notification that read “Weekly Report Available: Last week your screen time was down 34% on this device, for an average of 2 hours, 38 minutes a day.” 

Woah. In two and a half hours, I could (hypothetically) sit through three 50-minute class blocks here at UMW. In two and a half hours, I could rewatch “Oppenheimer.” The last time I sat through a film that long without distraction was “Wicked” in theatres. At home, I tend to choose films around the 90-minute mark because, like most of my generation, I have a shortened attention span.

Is it my fault? Is it my generations’ fault? I remember getting ruthlessly made fun of at age 11 for not having a smartphone like most of my peers. I was upset that I didn’t have one, not because I wanted a smartphone, but because I wanted to fit in at school. Kids my age were already on Snapchat while I shared an iPod with my little sister to listen to Beyoncé on long car rides.

Finally, my father told me that if I could play “Für Elise” on the piano, then I could have a phone. I only ever learned the introduction, but by my 12th birthday, I had a smartphone. The social pressure was ridiculous, and my family were in a fortunate enough position to afford me a phone.

Over the following years, I put my debate skills into practice by convincing my parents to allow me on social media. Now that I’m a decade older, it’s easy for me to wish that I hadn’t begged for that access. I can’t begin to imagine how much time I spent on Instagram and other socials over the last 10 years, but I can admit the detrimental impact social media has on the human psyche. 

There are plenty of other uses for technology beyond social media. I mainly use my phone for basic communication as was intended—iMessages, Whatsapp. But I also use it for language-learning through apps such Teuida, which boasts an interactive interface through which users can study Korean, Japanese and Spanish. Sometimes, I’ll prop up my phone on the treadmill and watch a video essay while running, or, more likely, to listen to music.

In 2023, I went without a phone for a month after it was stolen. At the time, I was studying in London, but had planned trips to Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Brussels that were all scheduled to occur within that month. Let me tell you this: it may have been the best month of my life.

I felt so liberated. I read three books on the train from London to Edinburgh. I read three more a few weeks later on the train from Amsterdam to Brussels. I took photos on a disposable camera I got from Boots. I emailed my family and friends from my laptop when I was in my flat or between classes and if I really needed access to a phone, I borrowed one of my friends’. 

I’m not saying that everyone should deactivate their social media, or that my deactivation is permanent, but I do think everyone who has the privilege to use a smartphone and social media should reckon with the danger—and sometimes reality—of a digital addiction. Without a phone, it was easy for me to notice how addicted many people are to theirs.

I have definitely fallen victim, and ever since that March, I have made an effort to spend less time on my new phone. Two years and a few gigabytes of extra storage later, I feel confident in my decision to step away from a constant social media presence.