I, Jayson Nieves, am horribly uncultured. Or at least, that’s what I’ve been told.
Teens my age spend an average of 4 and a half hours or more on their phone, specifically on social media. So, when I told everyone on the staff that I didn’t have a single app, they were all flabbergasted. While I watch TV and movies like it is no one’s business, my knowledge of thrilling tv shows, ridiculous sitcoms, and the Spiderman franchise isn’t enough to keep up with everyone else’s conversations about fashion or the latest celebrity gossip. And once I do figure something out, the entire world has completely moved on and left me to figure out the next hot topic with a series of Google searches.
In addition, my lack of social media presence has caused me to seemingly lag behind in humor. Being funny is subjective, of course but to me, there are levels to it: there’s “funny”, “stupid funny”, “unfunny”, and “brain-rot”. “Funny” is universally enjoyable humor, “stupid funny” is what I identify myself as, where I say something so incoherent and random that it draws a laugh, “unfunny” is found in people who try too hard and just end up saying weird things that deter people away, and “brain-rot…” well, I won’t get into that too much, as the dictionary of nonsensical terms is simple too vast. As someone who thought himself to be somewhat humorous, I find all these categories and rules and how they vary between people to be interesting.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that compared to my chronically online peers, I am much more in tune with my emotions. I have seen many people my ages spread their negative feelings all over social media. To me, it comes off less as these people telling everyone how they are better than whoever upset them, and more of these people just asking for reassurance. It’s about maturity, and apps like Instagram and TikTok feed off immaturity. Being away from the toxic environments and ridiculous name-calling has allowed me to grow as a person. I am a firm believer that finding your worth is something that’s better done away from an audience.
Most importantly, however, my lack of social media has increased my creativity. Instagram and TikTok have a number of “edits” or short videos that are created to praise a certain feeling or, more often, a specific character. I’ve seen edits of Spider-Man, Kratos, Batman, and even Perry the Platypus. They are incredibly edited and usually have really cool music. But with all this praise for already existing characters and works, no one really comes up with anything on their own. Many people say, “I wanna make something like that!” when in reality, they should say, “That’s awesome, that makes me want to make something of my own.”
The latter is my mentality- instead of making something everyone will like, I make something that I’m proud of and find the people that enjoy it along the way. You achieve a certain creative liberty once you stop focusing on what people will think of the work, and you simply make the best work you possibly can.
While I am not sure not having social media has made me a better person, I believe I am a vastly different person than I would be if I did have any of the apps. I could have ended up a lot meaner or more self-centered, or maybe more knowledgeable and self-aware. I can debate the possibilities forever, but I believe living without these apps has made exactly who I am supposed to be. To be clear, social media isn’t entirely terrible. It connects people from all across the world and provides many with sense of community and information that may not be readily available in regular life. This article is purely opinion-based, yes, but I think everyone could benefit from getting away from the apps for periods of time to reset and be present. I encourage you to take a break, do something creative, and (if people still say this) touch grass.
