Pre-Text
For context:
I'm a Student, 16 years of age and here are some other details:
Social Medias that I did not delete are "Facebook" and "Youtube", and the reasons are that...
On Youtube, it's because it contains most of the learning materials for most of the topics in my education. This platform though however has kind of become a double-edged sword since this is where most of the valuable information I get but I've also been using them as a means of procrastination(all throughout the week). But it never really did spiral out of control since I snap myself out of it forcefully >:)
For Facebook, the university's facebook page is essential for me to be updated on all the updates, events, etc of the institution. So it would be a bad idea if I deleted it. I never used this platform for procrastinating ever(usually spending around 8 minutes of screen time on this app), because I think the memes are unfunny.
I know instagram, tiktok and twitter also have learning materials but in my observations, they've has done more bad than good to me since they're bombarded with brainrot content. And obviously, not all the content on these platforms are educational content.
Reasons why I wanted to do this
I started my self-improvement journey early, but from all the procrastination of me endlessly scrolling through all of these social media apps that I had.
I was in a rut! I went back to the same self-pity cycle and all of this social media jumping back and forth to desperately find something to delude me into positive entertainment that I went through before I attended this university. And so I wanted to change that. And in doing so, I remembered the quote:
"In solving a problem, one must first recognize there's one"
And so I did, and I did all kinds of methods until I decided to cut the root of the problem...
Day 1 (02-4-2024)
I woke up late. And after doing the usual morning routine that I do, I went to the local church with my mother. After that, I went and bought some biscuits for snacks, and I also bought a spare of anti-perspirant because mine currently is running out. Then after doing all of those, I went and did my homeworks from school. I didn't complete it all but I did most of what I could do that day.
Day 2 (02-5-2024)
School was mundane for this day, then I went home and did some note-taking then immediately headed to bed. Though it still took a considerable amount of focus since my body isn't used to sleeping early or having screens in front of my eyes before sleeping.
Day 3 (02-6-2024)
School was fun during this day. then I went home, made warm milk so as to sustain me while making notes to review in the early morning for a lengthy chemistry test for the following day. I stood up late for this by the way so I definitely got huge eye bags from this.
Day 4 (02-7-2024)
Sleep deprived from what I did yesterday, I still had fun in school with a couple of naps here and there when I had my breaks. Then I went home with a homework to finish and a tasty snack to finish! I went to sleep after this immediately
Day 5 (02-8-2024)
Lethargic from oversleeping yesterday, I was exhausted from P.E. class. Other than that, I went home and completed my digital homework to complete for the week!
Day 6 (02-9-2024)
No classes on Fridays, or at least it's digital. So I woke up late at 12pm, I immediately arranged my bed, did my morning prayer, drank a cup of water before eating, took a really cold bath and did my tasks for the day, I did a heavy amount of reading and note-taking since there's a boatload amount of summative tests for the next week. Then I organized my schedule using google calendar. A productive day indeed!
Day 7 (02-10-2024)
Study, study, study! I did a substantial amount of active recalls with a little of note-taking, though I became lazy because I hate note-taking. Now I also optimized my setup in my room to have a whiteboard so that I can better expound on my cognitive abilities in a really wide area that I can write. Overall, I felt productive yet at the same time, I noticed myself spacing out a lot more often than I used to.
Effects
Mentally
Aside from the "brain-damage" I got from school which is totally unrelated to this challenge.
I cleared up most of the "brain fog" that I had accumulated from numbing your mind from social media. I've began to live more "Epicurean"(mental pleasure to the highest good) than "Hedonistic"(both beneficial and harmful pleasures to the highest good) since my outlook towards myself has changed.
An analogy that I've thought of would be like:
I treat myself as if I were a dish with multiple ingredients. Add in the meat, the rice, the veggies, they're all good. But you add animal feces!? That's just bizarre.
So I've become a little more serious when it comes down to what I do and what I consume and expose myself to both in the internet and real-life.
Emotionally
I've been more positive and happier, in a sense that I've been looking forward to more exciting things for me to enjoy.
Social Media has made my mood horrible and my brain mentally numb. It drastically changed my brain chemistry so much that at some point of the challenge that I thought that I was beyond saving at that particular point when I thought about it.
But it does get better, and the best method I used was just socializing, through conversations you get to deeply understand and value the individual you're conversing and you start to reflect more of those to yourself.
You regain what makes you human, empathy.
Productivity-Wise
My procrastination has just become almost nonexistent at this point. The only lapses in my productivity is now my eating habits, which would be "I'm gonna cook and eat this because I'm bored and I don't want to study". As well as watching anime on Muse Asia!
I've also now become to value time as something we can never get back. It's odd since that before I did this challenge, I took it for granted, thus I've wasted time for most of my hours on it which I will always regret to have done but also something in which I've forgiven myself and to do better.
Was It Worth It?
I needed it. Though I may never fully quit the popular social medias since we live in the digital age of our history. It's only best that I minimized it. And I came out from this journey with a little more appreciation to the things we rarely do because of it.
And I also recommend everyone do this, 4 days is enough(probably, I'm just guessing now since everyone is different). And it'll help you unwind for a little bit and regain your focus.