Social Media Really Messes Us Up: A Personal Story
Social Media.
I’m here to tell you my story and how I almost transformed into a different person just by my phone.
I recall it was around 2020 when I first downloaded my first social media platform — Instagram. Not too much trouble there, I’ll admit. I never posted. I just used it to chat with friends and get updates from my favorite musicians (unfortunately, I listen to Rock ‘n Roll, so pretty much the one thing I wanted an update about was Chuck Berry (There is not too much to see there; he died in 2017), and such things that you’d do with Instagram when you’re new to the platform and don’t know it that well.
Unfortunately, this then led to a thought. “Hey, why don’t I download some more? Nothing wrong with that, right?”
And…
Yeah, it didn’t turn out that way.
I downloaded a few more (I think it was TikTok and Twitter) and began using them. I was quickly tired of TikTok, so I stopped using it. My Instagram usage, however, skyrocketed.
I would wake up, get ready for school, and then watch Instagram reels until I was just about to be late. Then I’d set off and arrive a mere few seconds before the gate closed.
And then I’d arrive home and — you guessed it — get back on my phone. I remember looking at my phone usage, 4 hours a day by 6 PM, and just thinking, shit, how did this get to happen?
Around this period, in November 2020, my mood decreased… significantly. I became pretty depressed, and I stopped eating as much (and although I had always been a pretty skinny kid, this was the final straw, as my body saw it), which led to a massive difference in my energy levels throughout the day. So, when I’d get home, I didn’t even have enough energy to go out with friends or do any of that teenage stuff you associate with us.
All of this just led to further usage of social media, one of the few reasons that I was so energy-deprived in the first place.
And I know it sounds like I’m blaming this all on social media — I’m not. I take full responsibility for my actions and, in some cases, what I didn’t act upon. I never saw signs anything was wrong until I decided to take the plunge and change.
Fast-forward to mid-late 2022, when I decided enough was enough.
Such a change wasn’t easy.
Shit, it was tough.
I stopped using Social Media altogether — apart from a business Twitter account for my side hustle (this was before I joined Medium, so this was pretty much the only social media I used).
I noticed my mood improved, and I had more energy after regaining my huge teenager-worthy appetite. I slept better, gained muscle, and began to do much better in school.
In short, I became a normal human being and started to take care of myself.
So now we’re here, just past the first quarter of 2023. I’m happier, more muscular, more able to learn, and I’ve got a decent social life. I’m back on Instagram, but with heavy caution; I’ve set limits to my phone for 30 minutes daily on the app. I don’t even reach it most days.
Let’s finish off.
I asked a social-media-savvy friend for her thoughts on social media, too, to ensure I wasn’t missing anything. Here’s what she said:
I was always told social media is toxic, and to stay away from it. But as soon as I began using it, suddenly I didn’t feel so isolated from everyone else, and people could get to know me. It’s definitely made me a lot more confident; when you don’t use it, you don’t know things like trends or ideas, and you end up sticking out like a sore thumb because you don’t fit in — everyone has all this information, like a handbook of how to act. When I got social media, many people suddenly took interest to me, more people wanted to be friends with me, and I felt more connected to the community. And yes, I know it’s not all that good, but it’s definitely helped my confidence, my self esteem and generally shaped me as a person. I feel like social media has improved who I am and helped me integrate into society better.
