There are a wide variety of social media platforms that are used day to day for people to be expressive of who they are as an individual. Whether it be posting pictures, tweeting thoughts or snapping a moment to post and share for others to see in a time frame of 10 seconds or less, the platforms offer a diverse way to share your life with others.

However, in the recent years, deleting social media has become a trend in order for one to reflect on oneself and have a period of time for self growth without the pressures of comparison.

Social media can be overwhelming, it’s informative and opinionated, which has benefits, but it also holds a lot of control over the youth and their mindsets towards certain things.

Of course it’s not necessarily always what one sees on social media but what some individuals do as well in regards to posting. Senior Claire Ortiz said, “[social media] takes away from what you’re actually experiencing when you’re constantly putting it on Snapchat, putting it on Instagram, putting it on Twitter.”

Ortiz is somewhat an advocate for periodic breaks on social media, individually she believes it gives her time for “self-growth and reflection” from the consuming platforms. Like most people, she enjoys them, but she also likes the time away for more “focus on the people and things she loves.”

It’s a common thing to delete social media for a more peaceful time period of less distractions, senior Jake Grajeda said, “I deleted social media because it allowed me to see the world and spend more valuable time with the people I love.”

Social media may not be bad. It can be a beautiful thing when used to share what you do with the world, but it’s also a beautiful thing to be able to focus on what directly surrounds an individual. The important takeaway of getting rid of social media from time to time is to not be consumed with how others live their lives or how they see you, but to focus on how you as an individual choose to live your own life and view yourself.