Trio of Garaway teens experiment with the ‘Nocial Media’ concept
Garaway High School friends Matthew Mullen, left, Jadon Miller and Andrew Bunn are in the midst of an effort to go without social media. The trio of Pirates have vowed to abstain from Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram, and their experience so far has been a very positive one in that they feel they are committing more time to what really matters.
Everywhere you look today, people have their heads buried in their phones. With social media sweeping the nation, people are driving and texting, walking and Snapchatting, and working while perusing one of dozens of social media outlets available to them.
Social media has become a way of life, one that has brought information around the world to people’s fingertips and also has taken control of the way people live.
Three young men from Garaway High School are going to see what life without social media is like in an experiment many young people today might never be able to pull off.
The three friends have sworn off using Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, and within two weeks all three noticed a change in their lifestyle, an alteration in the way they lived their lives, and all three felt better about the way they were spending their time.
Not long ago Garaway junior Matthew Mullen was watching the television show, “Hard Knocks,” a show that follows the inner sanctum of the Cleveland Browns National Football League organization, and one night he heard defensive end Carl Nassib talk about how someone who dedicates two hours of social media each day of their life adds up to one month each year. Nassib said that is one month that could be used toward dedicating oneself to improving some aspect of their life that was the most important to them.
Mullen took that statement to heart and told his dad Matt that he was going to go on a trial run of two months and put aside using social media. One might call it a “Nocial Media” experiment.
“The results were pretty obvious almost immediately,” Mullen said. “I didn’t want to spend a whole month out of the year staring at my phone. I wasn’t bettering myself, so I wanted to challenge myself to see how it went without it.”
With school and football in full swing, Mullen has had plenty to occupy his time, but even so, he realized social media was a big part of his life, as it is with most teenagers today. He started the “Nocial Media” experiment on Saturday, Aug. 25, and in that time span he said he has not missed his social media time.
Mullen said one of the biggest differences has been his sleeping pattern. Like many teens, he took his phone to bed and perused social media, and now he said he simply goes to sleep earlier. He also has noticed he is actually engaging in real conversations with more people and has begun reading more, tackling several leadership books suggested to him by assistant principal Ryan Taggart and reading his Bible more.
He has been discussing the leadership books with Taggart at school, meaning his experiment is already paying dividends.
Mullen’s dad also decided to try to the idea, and Matthew Mullen also brought his friends Andrew Bunn and Jadon Miller into the “Nocial Media” experience.
“I really thought it was a good way to expand on my faith, and that was why I wanted to try it out,” Bunn said. “So far I am really glad I have done it because I’ve already picked up some good habits.”
“I told Matthew that was really a good idea, and he told me I should join him, and I figured, ‘Hey, why not?’” Miller said.
All three teens realize it is a large step for any teenager in a world where social media rules and is everywhere, yet all three said they have already seen positive benefits from avoiding being on their phones all the time.
“It is a big commitment, but it actually feels kind of good not to have to rely on your phone all the time and have your nose buried in it,” Miller said.
What will the three young men feel like after two months? Only time will tell, but if the early results are any indication, it could be a real positive in their lives as they commit to doing things they feel really matter to them.
Who knows? If all goes well, the three may start a trend that will help people get their noses out of their phones to smell the many joys around them.