BY CHLOE MOLONEY
After telling my friends that I was quitting social media, they were shocked to say the least. Some looked at me as if I were mad. Perhaps I am, a little. They asked how I was going to be invited to parties, where I was going to post my holiday pictures and how I was going to keep in contact with them.
I quit Facebook in March of this year, Instagram and Snapchat a few weeks prior and Twitter only last week. As obvious as it may seem, these social networks are made to be addictive. A large number of people have expressed their admiration for my decision, saying how I’m in an ‘enviable position’ and that they wish they could do the same. I have been to countless dinners and drinks with friends where we sat in silence, instead of sharing our experiences of the past year and connecting in real life. Living without social media, especially Facebook, is a real indicator of who deserves your attention and friendship. For some, if you don’t have social media, you don’t exist at all.
Dr. Cal Newport delivered a TED talk on living without social media. Newport said, ‘not only am I OK without social media, but I think I’m better off.’ I have to confess, I definitely feel the same way. Every time I logged on, there was a pang of anxiety which, until recently, I was unaware was coming from my phone. And every time I switched off, I wondered how many likes were coming through.
Frankly, I’m looking forward to investing in my real identity rather than my online one. Time spent editing profile pictures or scrolling through Facebook can be channelled into productivity and authenticity because, at the end of the day, no one is going to remember what we tweeted about. They are going to remember who we were offline. So, I encourage you to delete one social media app from your phone, and give it a try.
Chloë Moloney is a student and writer from Surrey, United Kingdom. She is a staff writer and curator at Luna Luna Magazine, and a reviewer for MookyChick. Chloë has had short stories published with Moonchild Magazine, Occulum, Sick Lit Magazine and more. She is also a culture writer and biographer at the award-winning news platform Shout Out UK, and has also written for Epigram, B24/7 and the London Horror Society. She also acted as a reviewer for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in 2017. You can find Chloë at @ChloeMoloney98.