After one week without social media, I feel my life have been changed.

First is that, today, when I tried to pick up my habit of watching YouTube again, I found that I didn’t seem to have anything to watch. Even on Floatplane.com, where I used to watch every single video. Occasionally, I wait until a new video comes out and then watch it. But now, I don’t think it’s the site who has changed. Instead, it’s just me. I’m no longer interested in the used-to-be juicy videos.

So, after two days of quitting YouTube and other social media, it was quite evident that I felt easier to concentrate. And I started to exercised after coming back home rather than starting watching videos or going to Instagram. And I felt more energetic doing almost everything. Even on boring classes where I used to be sleepy, I can think about, for example, things to do after class. And my life is just getting better and better with each passing day.

When we look back on this challenge, we see that leaving social media is not the goal, and it’s only the first step. What we want is a better life where we take control. Now, with streaming, and things like Facebook, it’s the computers and money who decide what we are going to watch, to think, to buy. Of course, one shouldn’t isolate him/herself from the online world, and the goal is, from the very beginning, to not get attached to the net. I want to use it, to contribute to it and finally, to make the online world what it should be.

Paying attention to the flavour of rice that you wouldn’t notice before, giving your friend a hug or doing sports won’t need much of your energy, only if the online world does not exhaust you. That’s why going back to the real world is the first step.