Waking up and checking social media is a routine for most students, but ever since Feb. 22, Nila Milo’s routine has completely changed. In a hope to see what it is like without social media, Milo set a goal of three months worth of staying off social media. Even though she was only on Snapchat and TikTok, her daily life and screen time has changed quite a bit.

“I first deleted all of my social media accounts a few weeks ago,” Milo said. “I’ll be staying off of any and all social medias until the end of the school year.”

After watching The Social Dilemma in her AP Lang class, Milo realized that having social media wasn’t as good for her as previously thought. Not long after, her mom Angela Wright, proposed a challenge of staying off of social media till the end of the school year. Wright wanted to challenge Milo and show that she could thrive without social media. If Milo completes her three months off of social media she will receive six hundred dollars. The challenge includes a two hundred dollar reward for every month completed.

“The challenge was to be more focused in her senior year and I wanted to show her you might not need social media as much as you think you do,” Wright said.

Since deleting her social media, Milo has noticed many changes in her life. No longer spending hours scrolling through TikToks, Milo has opened up her time to include many other hobbies that were previously pushed to the side. She has much more time to indulge in painting, reading and watching TV. She is very happy to have more time to read since she hasn’t done much of it since elementary school. 

“I’ve been reading more and painting more,” Milo said. “Getting off of social media has made more time for my other hobbies, it’s been really nice being off of my phone more.”

Not being able to look at social media hasn’t been that hard for Milo although not being in on some of the jokes and news found solely on social media has been difficult. Through this time she has been able to better communicate in real life as opposed to through a screen which can be difficult for many in this generation. Many people, including Milo, use texting as a main form of communication. This has not changed with the challenge of deleting her social media, although some friends find it different. 

“It’s kind of been the same but also harder,” senior Sophia Ely said. “We still text to communicate but it’s weird to know that that’s the only form of communication over the phone we have.”