Masuk Free Press

Summer is for imminent boredom. Dirty dishes, unfolded laundry, and incomplete school worksheets, and yet I still lingered around the sofa. With “nothing to do”, I scrolled through the reels of nonsense on my phone to cure my boredom. 

My eyes traveled up and down the screen as a day turned into a week, a week into a month, and soon enough, fireworks illuminated my eyes on the Fourth of July. In the sentimental moments of a day full of colors, barbecue and family, the fireworks set off emotion. A sudden pit in my stomach developed when it dawned on me that summer was flying by, that June wasted away as I watched others taking trips and making memories. 

That night I went home and without a second thought deleted it all. Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Youtube and Pinterest. All apps that provided short videos and memes were erased. I went to bed feeling accomplished, but woke up the next morning realizing how hard this new commitment was going to be.

I do not know why, but most will agree that the 2022-23 school year was distressing. Students, like me, left the building on June 10 with tired souls, feeling sleep-deprived and coffee drugged all at once. I was determined to escape this feeling, recharge myself instead of my chromebook or phone, and actually live life rather than worry about exams and grades. That goal was quickly forgotten as I walked onto the bus and opened Youtube Shorts.

Living with old fashioned parents, I am forced to listen to all the stories from “the good old days” and since I can remember I have never been glad to be a part of this generation. I love old movies, vintage fashion and frail photos. These simple objects always charged my desire to be a teen back then rather than now. 

Social media is a watershed in online communication. Creating online profiles has allowed people to view, chat and react to each other’s lives in one, or multiple, apps. There is no doubt that social media has its positive advancements, but its sheer importance in everyday lives, especially those of teens, is the problem.

It distracts from everyday tasks, sleep and recovery, and exposes us to politics, violence and other heavy topics the adolescent mind cannot truly comprehend. Social media prompts unrealistic views of life and other people, which creates peer pressure, insecurities and mental illness.

It took an entire month to successfully delete all of my social media, and when I did, I found myself helpless on what to do. 

The morning following the Fourth started like any other summer day. I woke up late, rolled out of bed and grabbed my phone. With no social media, I turned to online games, such as Mario Kart; however, I quickly became bored, got up, and started my chores.

Every completed errand lead to another race, but soon enough the most productive week of the entire season became a reality. Without social media, I soon lost interest in my phone, seeking new methods to fill the long summer days. Cooking breakfast, then cereal, walks with my dog and reading were such methods that soon became a regular routine. 

Week after week, I got better. Quickly finishing my household tasks and taking early showers meant longer days filled with more activities, leisurely drives with my father, outings with family and most of all, memories. However, I would not be honest if I did not mention the times when Mario Kart rushed my days, or when Netflix packed my schedule. 

Without social media, my lazy days did not concern me as they did before. It has been scientifically proven that one lazy day per week can help manage stress, prevent burnout, and conjure up ideas. According to Chris Bailey, the author of Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction, sheds light on the importance of laziness. 

In the TIME article, Bailey mentions the importance of the little things like showers, walks and reading. How such meaningless activities can create insightful thoughts: “In a world of constant distraction, we rarely put our mental feet up. Instead, we spend our spare time bouncing between novel distractions — going from checking our email, to reading the news, to surfing Facebook, and so on — activities that often make us even more tired.” 

Social media sets aesthetically pleasing, but unrealistic standards. Feed that is supposed to mimic healthy behavior, such as “what I eat in a day to stay slim” or “get ready with me as I do one hundred things before school/work” can promote severe mental illness and disorders such as anorexia (eating disorder). Without social media, I escaped the regret I once felt. Without social media, I felt free to do what I wanted, and not what it expected me to do.

 A month later, I would travel out of Monroe with my family, and commit to what teens feared most, their phone in someone else’s pocket.

In Maryland, my phone remained in the hotel from eight in the morning to twelve at night. When it did accompany me on my trip, it really accompanied the sunscreen, snacks, and water in the family backpack. 

I love photography, however this summer taught me the importance of witnessing something first-hand, rather than through a screen. I did not feel obligated to capture what seemed Instagram worthy. I sat by the ocean and listened to the waves, the shrieks of children after getting splashed with cold water, the music and the laughter. 

In this experiment, without social media, and without my phone, I learned the importance of the little things in life. The sound of water, the taste of ice cream, the feeling of winning a good card match with family. I was determined to live life this summer, and by deleting my social media, I look back and feel like I did, but also a sense of bittersweetness. 

No photos or videos could capture the emotions I felt when I would stop and listen, feel, smell or taste. Just vivid memories to fall asleep to, to remember. 

I never wanted a summer to last longer the way I wanted it to this year.

Today in school, my phone still trails behind me in my backpack. Instead of scrolling through my phone before the bell rings, I wait. At a lunch table where others speak I listen. I do not take out my phone, I watch the chaos, maybe laugh at it too. 

Without social media, without technology, you learn to cure that boredom, that want for a distraction, with life. With sound, with smell, with touch. 

I may still be a procrastinator, one to avoid work and linger around my home, to complete work while the world is asleep and face the consequences the following morning, but why would anyone want to sit in a metal chair for hours with music blasting in their ears, when they could take a walk and feel the warmth of the sun? Laugh at the silliness of their younger siblings or read a good book, let imagination run free. When you can solve math problems quietly at night, accompanied by the sound of rain, or write essays with the lasting taste of tea and honey on your tongue, and the pleasing click -iti – clack of the keyboard. 

Losing your phone is like losing a body part. Without sight, you learn to feel. Without speech, you learn to listen. Without social media, you learn about life, and how everything about it, the good and the bad, can be special.