Deep into the Time Vacuum

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Deep into the Time Vacuum

Sep 05, 2018

Cari Callen

Are you or someone you know addicted to social media?

Short answer: yes, long answer: YASSSSSSS!I have been "addicted" for a long time now. I know a few of my friends who are "addicted" as well, but I have yet to meet someone who is as deep into the time vacuum that is "social media" as me. What can I say, I like to keep upon popular culture? I find myself procrastinating on social media so often that I have installed software called Self-Control on my computer that disables me from using websites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and other unproductive websites for a given amount of time. It's been very helpful during academically stressful times such as finals week or the night before a rigorous group project or challenging paper is due

When it comes to the actual cell phone application-version of social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Netflix (though not technically a social media site, but still nonetheless time consuming), sometimes I need to force myself to hide my phone somewhere in an inconvenient place like on a high shelf under a pile of clothes in order to really focus on the tasks that I need to do. I often times find myself wishing that I was not so drawn to waste time on social media, but I have come to realize that it is not so much my dependency on social media apps themselves. Rather, I need to get to the root of my problem: procrastination.

I don't know why procrastination is one of my biggest vices or why I find myself constantly creating new ways to occupy my time away from the things that I should be doing instead of tackling the many tasks that I have on my daily to-do list and saving the "play time" for after my work is complete.

It's such a self-destructive cycle that I actively put myself in and I have challenged myself to end the cycle this year. I want to not have this unhealthy and unproductive weight holding me back from making the most out of the precious hours I have in the day.

I am challenging myself to minimize my use of social media and Netflix and actually be present in my daily life and make meaningful memories and relationships with the short amount of time I have on this Earth. As perfectly cliché as it is, one never knows how much time theyhave to enjoy the blessings of leading a meaningful and present life. I hope to experience even a little of what that is like this year. After all, it is my senior year of college and I will soon be full-throttle thrusted into the world of "adulting" very soon. I want to leave behind these childish and unproductive habits behind me and make myself available to all the amazing opportunities the "adult world" has for me.


Cari Callen, a student in Jon Pfeiffer's Fall 2018 Media Law class at Pepperdine University, wrote the above essay in response to the following question: Are you or someone you know addicted to social media? Has social media affected your or your friend' s study habits by spending too much time scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter or watching videos on YouTube?

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