Reflections and Contemplations

It’s been 4 weeks; procrastination has never been harder; work is getting done – it’s clear what this means. The first day back of Term 2, isn’t just going to be the first day you wake up earlier than 11 o’clock in two weeks, but the long awaited day where the #giveup challenge pledges can finally return to their social media accounts.

Having participated in the event, I get it. I get the reaches for your phone before realising you’ve deleted the app, or the unknowingly sarcastic email alerts in your inbox informing you thatyour social media’s ‘on fire – but you probably already know that!’. Being off social media may have been a challenge (get it, get it) for some people, but it’s important to think about how this experience has impacted us.

Before starting the challenge, I remember freaking out and thinking “Oh my God, how am I going to do this for five and a half weeks?!”; ‘this’ being giving up my Tumblr account that I was on for a considerable amount of hours in a day. However, while participating in the challenge, I realised that I could give up my social media and was more or less the same, maybe even less stressed than before! That led to me thinking and asking myself a few questions: do I feel happier without using my social media account? Will I feel better or worse when I get back on my account? How has giving up my social media for the five and a half weeks of the challenge affected me?

Asking ourselves questions like the ones I asked myself earlier, make us actively think about how social media contributes not only to cyber bullying, but our mental health. This challenge is a great opportunity to reflect and really give thought to how social media and a positive and/ or negativesocial media environment influence our life in general. The #giveup challenge isn’t about giving all your social media up and staying as far away from that Facebook login as possible, but is a tool to understand the importance of positivity, being in a positive environment and working to make thatpositive environment achievable for everyone to stop negative consequences like cyber bullying.I really really recommend anyone, #giveup pledge or not to ask themselves these questions and think about what they can do to make their social media platform a happier and more positive environment for everyone to use.

The first day back at school will be the final day of the #giveup challenge and the winners will be announced on the first Friday assembly back. Ladies, remember that you can continue to support this campaign by donating to the pledges involved in the challenge and consequently the ReachOut organisation upon return to school, checking out the Positivitree or using the #giveup hashtag on your social media platform to raise awareness for the girls involved in the challenge.