It is 8 am and the alarm just went off. I turn it off but I do not put my phone down. Instead, I decide to stay in bed for a bit longer while I check if I have got any notifications on Facebook, look at the new posts on Instagram and watch the Snapchat Stories from last night. This is how I start my days, the screen of my phone inches from my face.
I have always known that social media can be a real waste of time. It can disconnect you from your surroundings and bring you down at times. But it is really just this year, as a fresher, that I’ve realised how unhealthy these social platforms can be.
First term at uni is not the easiest. You feel lonely. Just like everybody else, you know no one. It’s also a time where you may ask yourself whether you made the right choice in coming here. And this is where social media comes in.
You create a ‘University/First Year’ album on Facebook and you start thinking that everything is worth snapchatting.
At least this was my case. I came from a big city in France and felt that I had to prove that I could still enjoy myself in a smaller place like York. Even my friends, who had moved to bigger cities than York, felt the same way. I was making Snapchat Stories more frequently and checking who was watching them. I was keeping up with my friends’ Snapchat Stories and daily checking their new posts on Facebook and Instagram.
It took me a few months to realize that we had started a competition: a competition on who was leading the best life at uni.
Sharing what is happening with your life on social media once in a while is okay. However, when it comes to a point where you are always taking out your phone
when something is funny or out of the ordinary, that is when it becomes a problem. Over-sharing can not only be an annoying habit but also an unhealthy one.
Having your phone out to take pictures of what is happening around you stops you from fully enjoying the good moments at uni. Instead, you are thinking about the future, thinking about where you are going to share these posts, what filters you are going to use or what captions you are going to write and finally, who will see and like your posts. Convincing others that you are enjoying uni will not help convince yourself. Just accept the fact that not every day will be a party.
So please, next time fight against the urge of pulling your phone out. You do not need to document everything that is happening around you. Most people do not even care. And, even if you just want to capture something for yourself, fight too that urge. Enjoy the present instead of already wishing to re-live that moment in the future.