I Erased Snapchat And My Life Got Way Better
Snapchat: the social media engine of FOMO.
It brought my anxiety to an all time high. I love seeing a bowl of pasta before it’s devoured. But then I would find myself thinking, wait, I like pasta. Thanks for the invite Bridget. What a wench. So rather than refreshing my snap stories about 20 times an hour, I erased the app entirely.
Word on the street is the average user opens Snapchat 18 times a day. There’s no way in hell all these people and all their snap streaks are only getting checked 18 times a day. Based on the exceptional sorority women I live with, I would increase that number by about 200%. I receive snaps of practically everything. My personal favorites are snaps of people bored on the toilet. I call them potty portraits.
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So I erased the app and tried to be more present and interested in my own life.
Day 1: What fresh hell is this! I wonder if anyone has sent me a potty portrait. Who will answer them? They will die waiting for me!
Day 2: My phone has way more battery life. Random peeps text me about why I didn’t respond to their snaps. Apparently, Andy got lunch with Miguel and Gillian discovered a new favorite salad place.
Day 3: I feel lighter without Snapchat. I know all these hip college kids who have cool internships or are trying to model in fashion week. But I am less jealous of them, and I am more focused on my own feelings. Probably because I’m not sharing my location with everyone I know about 6 times a day.
Day 4: I miss my ex. But I can’t watch him doing his homework in the library so that feels less creepy and helps prevent my stalker like tendencies. I wonder if he has a Facebook status….
Day 5: I think I’m checking all my social media apps less now. I used to check snap then check Instagram then go back and refresh snap because I’m insane. Now, I scroll through Instagram once or twice an hour.
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Fast forward: It’s been about a month now. I feel free from my fomo chains. Yes, I occasionally miss Snapchat but it’s always when I watch other people on the app. Miss manners would say that if you’re with me, you shouldn’t be on your phone anyway (and I agree, we are at dinner). People are going to believe you ate today even if they don’t see it. Also, it’s mad rude.
So I challenge you to delete the app. Try it for five days. You can always re-download it. I think you will be surprised how uninterested you are days later to learn that Bridget had pasta for dinner. Because you also had pasta for dinner. You just didn’t post a picture of it. And she sucks anyway.
