It’s been a really fun 5 months without having an actual smartphone.  I mean, not being able to access social media was a pain. I was addicted to it after all. That wasn’t all – I had to go through constant teasing every day and to put a ring on it, I couldn’t access my school resources at school. This means I couldn’t submit assignments or do research on topics. Like, was it really worth getting my phone taken away for this long?

To be upfront, there were actually some good things that came out of this (unfortunate) circumstance. Of course, there are equally bad things that came out of it too. As listed above, I had limited communication and less access to resources. But what about the most important thing that came out of this? That would be my inability to access social media. Let’s just say that this was probably the most impactful thing that happened to me.

I originally got my smartphone taken away because I was in a bad state of mind. I was gloomy every day, coming to school and having to put a fake smile on and act like nothing was wrong. My father interpreted this to be because of social media. I didn’t completely agree with him at the time, but it was eventually forced upon me to have my phone taken away, leaving me socially stranded. It felt like I was on an island, being unable to communicate with my peers as I used to every day before my phone was confiscated.  After some time without an actual phone, I’ve come to the conclusion that maybe this is what I really needed.

Honestly, I was on social media for hours at a time. I was distracted. Ever since I downloaded Snapchat, mostly bad things came from it. I obviously wasn’t responsible enough to have it and keep my sanity. Having gone through consecutive losses, mainly that rooting from social media itself, it made me realize that if I didn’t ever have Snapchat, things would be different. Sure, I’ll admit I gained a surplus number of friends, but I shouldn’t have had to rely on social media to talk with my peers. It feels better to talk with people in person rather than through a screen. But then I was given the opportunity to check my Snapchat after months of inactivity. My response was unbelievable.

I just didn’t feel like checking it – I just didn’t want to, but why was I feeling this way? Was it because of that ominous feeling that lurked through my fingers as I was tapping away at the screen, desperate to check my friends’ stories and see what was going on in the group chat I haven’t visited in months? All of the traumata came to me at once. I was scared of looking at it. What if I saw something I didn’t want to see? What if no one was checking up on me? These thoughts raced through my head. I finally realized that I didn’t want to do this after all. I gave my friend back their phone and continued on with my day.

I feel like this world could be better off without social media. I think most teenagers should give it a break and see how it affects their mental health. I was introduced to many new activities I never knew I could be interested in. My mental health is stable and not in a bad place as I was a few months back. Maybe you should take a break from the screen!