I’m guilty of it.

I take my phone with me practically everywhere I go. I scroll through Instagram or snapchat friends when I’m bored.

It’s an easy distraction.

However, recently, social media started to consume my time more than I’d like to admit. I found myself failing to concentrate on homework more often than usual. I was getting frustrated with my own mind. I had never really had that problem before.

Out of frustration, I deleted a few apps that were taking up a large majority of my time and, at first, it was hard to adjust. I kept going to reach for my phone then setting it right back down because I knew there was no reason to check it.

It has only been a week and a half since I deleted those apps and the temptation to check them or re-download them is practically gone. I’ve noticed that I’ve been able to concentrate on more important things.

I think we’re all familiar with diet “cleanses;” the diets that supposedly flush toxins from our bodies. Well, I guess I’ll call this my “social media cleanse.”

It’s been nice to spend less time on my phone, allowing for more time with myself or others. It’s been freeing, in a way.

I personally believe it was a healthy thing to do for myself. I urge you to reevaluate the priorities in your life and decide if you need to make a change as far as social media and screen time goes.

If you don’t spend a lot of time on social media, then you’re one step ahead.

If you feel as though you spend an unhealthy amount of time with your eyes staring at a screen, make changes.

There’s no excuse. Delete apps. Shut the phone off.

I think you’ll be happy you did.

Rachel Astleford is a nutrition and dietetics major and can be reached at [email protected].