"I'm 17 and deleted all my social media. Here's what happened."

[FiftyIsTheNewTwenty]

Smart kid!  What might you accomplish in 4927 hours?

"Let’s do the maths. I got a phone when I was 13. I’m 17.5 now. I can easily say I’ve spent around 3 hours on social media every day since then, therefore:

17.5–13= 4.5 x 365 = 1642 x 3 = 4927 hours wasted.

I don’t even want to get into what I could’ve accomplished in those 4927 hours. A ridiculous amount."

https://medium.com/@coreyalex/what-ive-learnt-as-a-17-year-old-who-deleted-all-social-media-d282274d4edd

[Sibley]

While I agree that our use of social media and technology in general desperately needs some moderation, that teen is coming across as smug and superior. A little bit of socialization to provide some humility is needed. Being seen as an "outcast", much less actually being an outcast, has real consequences in the real world, and it's the attitude, rather than the lack of social media, that is the real problem.

[LennStar]

While I agree that our use of social media and technology in general desperately needs some moderation, that teen is coming across as smug and superior. A little bit of socialization to provide some humility is needed. Being seen as an "outcast", much less actually being an outcast, has real consequences in the real world, and it's the attitude, rather than the lack of social media, that is the real problem.

In ten more years he will be in the age where it is cool to be a social media abstinate, don't worry.

[Sibley]

While I agree that our use of social media and technology in general desperately needs some moderation, that teen is coming across as smug and superior. A little bit of socialization to provide some humility is needed. Being seen as an "outcast", much less actually being an outcast, has real consequences in the real world, and it's the attitude, rather than the lack of social media, that is the real problem.

In ten more years he will be in the age where it is cool to be a social media abstinate, don't worry.

I really don't care about the social media. Cool or not, he's due to get the figurative stuffing kicked out of him with that tone. I'm not surprised he lost all his friends if that's how he treats them.

[Warlord1986]

"Luckily, I was always too good for them anyway."

I don't think 80% of his friends dropped him because he was no longer relevant. I think they dropped him because of shit like the above. But I'm sure his college application essay will make a big deal over how he deleted facebook.

[mm1970]

While I agree that our use of social media and technology in general desperately needs some moderation, that teen is coming across as smug and superior. A little bit of socialization to provide some humility is needed. Being seen as an "outcast", much less actually being an outcast, has real consequences in the real world, and it's the attitude, rather than the lack of social media, that is the real problem.

In ten more years he will be in the age where it is cool to be a social media abstinate, don't worry.

I really don't care about the social media. Cool or not, he's due to get the figurative stuffing kicked out of him with that tone. I'm not surprised he lost all his friends if that's how he treats them.

"Luckily, I was always too good for them anyway."

I don't think 80% of his friends dropped him because he was no longer relevant. I think they dropped him because of shit like the above. But I'm sure his college application essay will make a big deal over how he deleted facebook.

I wanted to address the above comments (sorry about not being awesome at quoting) because...here's my perspective.

This kid is pretty spot on.  I found myself nodding my head the whole time.

I am so glad that I didn't grow up in the time of social media and phones.  So glad.

Childhood, and the teenage years, were pretty much fucking hell for me.  Bullied, picked on for being smart, a nerd, growing up in a small town where that just WASN'T COOL, living in the middle of nowhere so no "just go down the street to play".  God I can't even imagine what it would be like to have a phone, and facebook, texting, snapchat, IG.  It was bad enough when we got "new kids" at the school when the Catholic school kids came in (they went to 6th or 8th).  Then suddenly my "friends" would meet new people.  And hey, look, we really like this girl Ellen.  But Ellen was #1 at her old school.  And she's not anymore.  So my "friends" say "well, we want to be friends with Ellen, and she doesn't like you because you are smarter, so we aren't going to be friends with you anymore."

Add in electronic bullying?  No thanks.

Boy, getting out of there, going to college, meeting people who were LIKE ME was amazing.  I remember meeting lots of new people.  I remember this one particular guy in my history class.  We were friendly but hadn't moved on to hanging out.  He was one of the 'cool kids'. One day, a few months in, he said "everywhere you go, you have a stream of geeks following you."  I said "you mean MY FRIENDS??"  That was the end of that.

Fact of the matter is, back then in HS?   I WAS too good for those asshole bullies.  And eventually?  Most of them grew the fuck up.  But being a teen is HARD for most and not everyone is able to step back at that age like this kid.  What's particularly HARD is that you generally don't have a choice on where you live or where you go to school.  You're stuck.

The attitude of "I'm better than they are" is really what gets the outcasts like me THROUGH high school and out the other side with the smallest bit of self confidence.  Those who don't have that?  Sometimes they don't make it.

[mathlete]

Imagine if someone wrote a think piece titled, "I stopped reading. Here's what happened.", or "I stopped talking/writing/using the telephone". Social media is a tool like any other. It can be used and it can be misused.

If this kid was really losing 3 usable hours a day (as opposed to 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there), then it's good that he deleted it, because he was probably addicted. Otherwise though, he's throwing away a lot of useful tools. Once, my college campus was put on alert for an active threat of violence. I was informed and kept up with it through Twitter. Sometimes I do cool things that other people would like to see pictures of. Sometimes they do cool things that I want to see pictures of.

You don't have to log in every day, or even every week. If Corey truly lacked the willpower to do that, then I suppose he made a very smart choice, and there's no shame in it. But I do generally reject the notion that xyz time ostensibly spent on social media will suddenly be filled with reading 25 books, and great life experiences once social media is gone.

And "Get off your phone" is an extremely trite and played out message. I'll give him a pass on that one though, since he's 17 and probably doesn't know that yet.

[AZDude]

I agree that social media is a tool, but I would also say that with SM, a few things are different. First, that stuff sticks around forever, so for a 17 year old who has a bad day and posts something offensive, suddenly that is following him around for the rest of his life. Ending SM use would help insulate him. On the other hand, what the real message is not to stop using SM, it is to stop wasting time and worrying about how you look to others, and instead just concentrate on building your own awesome life.

If you quit SM and then send those 3 hours watching TMZ and hanging out with your friends smoking pot in the basement... well... what did you really accomplish?

[Lance Burkhart]

https://scottlocklin.wordpress.com/2017/10/05/decoupling-from-fakebook/

[DrMoney]

Social media is probably a necessary evil for most young people. The fact that "EVERYBODY" at his school uses it and spends hours a day on it is a good indication of what the future looks like in terms of business and innovation. Whether we think it *should* be this way or not, social media is how people communicate. To pull the plug on it is--I'm sure--quite liberating, but its not without its disadvantages too.

[mm1970]

Imagine if someone wrote a think piece titled, "I stopped reading. Here's what happened.", or "I stopped talking/writing/using the telephone". Social media is a tool like any other. It can be used and it can be misused.

If this kid was really losing 3 usable hours a day (as opposed to 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there), then it's good that he deleted it, because he was probably addicted. Otherwise though, he's throwing away a lot of useful tools. Once, my college campus was put on alert for an active threat of violence. I was informed and kept up with it through Twitter. Sometimes I do cool things that other people would like to see pictures of. Sometimes they do cool things that I want to see pictures of.

You don't have to log in every day, or even every week. If Corey truly lacked the willpower to do that, then I suppose he made a very smart choice, and there's no shame in it. But I do generally reject the notion that xyz time ostensibly spent on social media will suddenly be filled with reading 25 books, and great life experiences once social media is gone.

And "Get off your phone" is an extremely trite and played out message. I'll give him a pass on that one though, since he's 17 and probably doesn't know that yet.

5 minutes here and 10 minutes there can easily add up to 3 hours.  I mean, it's not much different in some ways from the "old days" of when I was a baby dinosaur, and the TV.  Even now, people watch too much TV and don't get enough exercise.

The phone/ social media/ whatever becomes a "habit" and a "crutch".  I was recently without a phone for 2 weeks.

Start to scare at the screen at work in a daze.  With phone: check out IG or FB, see what's going on.   Without phone: Stretch my legs and go for a 20 min walk around the block to clear my head.

I see it with my kids' reliance on screens, and the spouse too.  In the morning or at the end of a long day, it's nice to just veg out, but a little bit can turn into hours when you add it all up.

Without the phone or social media (and you don't have to completely get rid of it all, when we had fires/ mudslides EVERYONE had the emergency alerts on)... in between classes, what do you do?  Take a few notes to remind yourself what you learned, or add something to the grocery list.  In the morning: make breakfast, pack lunch, wash some fruits and vegetables.  In the evening: chat with the kids while they help you with dishes.  After school: veg out for 10 minutes and then do your fucking reading dammit.

Like any addiction - are you addicted, or is it a habit?  Sometimes when I limit the screens the kids get really frustrated - which is a sign they are too dependent on them.  But mostly they shrug and start doing make-believe sword fighting games.

[facepalm]

Imagine if someone wrote a think piece titled, "I stopped reading. Here's what happened.", or "I stopped talking/writing/using the telephone". Social media is a tool like any other. It can be used and it can be misused.

I understand the point you are trying to make, but being on social media and reading a book are in no way equivalent.

[inline five]

Imagine if someone wrote a think piece titled, "I stopped reading. Here's what happened.", or "I stopped talking/writing/using the telephone". Social media is a tool like any other. It can be used and it can be misused.

If this kid was really losing 3 usable hours a day (as opposed to 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there), then it's good that he deleted it, because he was probably addicted. Otherwise though, he's throwing away a lot of useful tools. Once, my college campus was put on alert for an active threat of violence. I was informed and kept up with it through Twitter. Sometimes I do cool things that other people would like to see pictures of. Sometimes they do cool things that I want to see pictures of.

You don't have to log in every day, or even every week. If Corey truly lacked the willpower to do that, then I suppose he made a very smart choice, and there's no shame in it. But I do generally reject the notion that xyz time ostensibly spent on social media will suddenly be filled with reading 25 books, and great life experiences once social media is gone.

And "Get off your phone" is an extremely trite and played out message. I'll give him a pass on that one though, since he's 17 and probably doesn't know that yet.

5 minutes here and 10 minutes there can easily add up to 3 hours.  I mean, it's not much different in some ways from the "old days" of when I was a baby dinosaur, and the TV.  Even now, people watch too much TV and don't get enough exercise.

The phone/ social media/ whatever becomes a "habit" and a "crutch".  I was recently without a phone for 2 weeks.

You've spent 40 days of your life on here.

[Lmoot]

I read it, expecting a snobbish tone based on comments here, but I didn’t get that sense at all. He clearly stated his feelings were based on how he used social media (but acknowledged others may use it differently). He’s even self aware enough to be able to admit that social media has a more involved role in younger people’s lives and that 17 year olds don’t view it as simply a tool in life, but life itself; you don’t participate, you cease to exist. Regarding the “too good for them anyway comment”, he expands on who “them” is by stating you find out who your real friends are.

[mm1970]

Imagine if someone wrote a think piece titled, "I stopped reading. Here's what happened.", or "I stopped talking/writing/using the telephone". Social media is a tool like any other. It can be used and it can be misused.

If this kid was really losing 3 usable hours a day (as opposed to 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there), then it's good that he deleted it, because he was probably addicted. Otherwise though, he's throwing away a lot of useful tools. Once, my college campus was put on alert for an active threat of violence. I was informed and kept up with it through Twitter. Sometimes I do cool things that other people would like to see pictures of. Sometimes they do cool things that I want to see pictures of.

You don't have to log in every day, or even every week. If Corey truly lacked the willpower to do that, then I suppose he made a very smart choice, and there's no shame in it. But I do generally reject the notion that xyz time ostensibly spent on social media will suddenly be filled with reading 25 books, and great life experiences once social media is gone.

And "Get off your phone" is an extremely trite and played out message. I'll give him a pass on that one though, since he's 17 and probably doesn't know that yet.

5 minutes here and 10 minutes there can easily add up to 3 hours.  I mean, it's not much different in some ways from the "old days" of when I was a baby dinosaur, and the TV.  Even now, people watch too much TV and don't get enough exercise.

The phone/ social media/ whatever becomes a "habit" and a "crutch".  I was recently without a phone for 2 weeks.

You've spent 40 days of your life on here.

That's pretty cool.

But don't tell my boss.

I wonder how it's calculated?  I usually have a tab open at home, even when I'm not there.  And often in the background at work.  Hm...

[mathlete]

5 minutes here and 10 minutes there can easily add up to 3 hours. 

Absolutely, but that's why I said "usable" hours. Five minutes every hour for five hours is not the same as 25, uninterrupted minutes. Someone who checks Twitter for 10 minutes in the morning, 30 minutes at work, and 20 minutes in the evening isn't going to write the Great American Novel because they technically gained an hour a day. Such small, in between times aren't conducive to getting anything intensive done.

I understand the point you are trying to make, but being on social media and reading a book are in no way equivalent.

Sure. They're not equivalent in that they are not the exact same thing. But they have several things in common, which is why I find it a useful comparison.

I'm guessing what is going unsaid here, is that reading books is more intrinsically valuable than checking social media. To that I say, "it depends".

It depends upon the person's utility curve, of course, but let's just not consider that one for a moment. It also depends upon what you are doing, or what you are reading.

If "reading a book" means reading Curious George as a young child, then I'm on Team Book. Reading is a completely indispensable skill that everyone needs in order to function at a high level in society.

If it means reading a mediocre fantasy novel though, that's mostly just time-passing entertainment. Which is a criticism often levied at social media.

On it's best day though, social media is informing people of current events and fostering engagement between people from around the globe. People have used social media to make friends, fall in love, rekindle relationships with old classmates, petition the government, start a human rights revolution, and get elected president.

I think it is a mistake to cut yourself off from all of that unless you really can't bring yourself to not completely succumb to it.

[Mezzie]

I did an experiment with the app "Moment" to see exactly how much my five minutes here, five minutes there on my phone was adding up to. It's been averaging about two hours/day for a month. That's a much bigger chunk of time than I had expected. I'd like to get it down to an hour.

[mm1970]

Absolutely, but that's why I said "usable" hours. Five minutes every hour for five hours is not the same as 25, uninterrupted minutes. Someone who checks Twitter for 10 minutes in the morning, 30 minutes at work, and 20 minutes in the evening isn't going to write the Great American Novel because they technically gained an hour a day. Such small, in between times aren't conducive to getting anything intensive done.

I guess one of the things that I learned on my first mat leave, is that 5 minutes is glorious.  I used 5 mins here, 20 mins there, to accomplish a lot!  Chopping vegetables for dinner, starting the crockpot, starting a load of laundry, etc.  My husband ate like a king.  My kid napped 3 x a day, but not for very long - so I learned to make the most out of each nap (one for chores, one for exercise - he napped in the stroller or ergo, and one for a nap!)

Even in the last 2 years, I got back into crocheting (it's relaxing).  I can sit and crochet for 5-10 minutes at a time.  No need to pull out any equipment, and I stick to easy, repetitive-type patterns.  In 2 years I've completed 6 blankets, most of them pretty large.

I also started reminding myself that 5-10 minutes of a workout is still a good workout!  Pushups, squats, crunches, or the "scientific 7 minute workout" - whatever I can get done is better than nothing.

[LennStar]

10 minutes are also fine for a meditation, which you can do basically everywhere.