Interview Summary

I had interviewed two people on their experiences of deleting their social media accounts. For their privacy, I have decided to give them fake names: Morgan and Haley. The interviews were conducted over a FaceTime call since both interviewees are unable to meet in person. I asked the both of them the same general questions in regards to: background information about themselves, how much time they spent on social media, why they decided to deactivate their accounts, what mind state were they in when they decided to deactivate, how they felt after reactivating their account, and if needed to, would they deactivate their account again. I made sure to use words and phrases to allow both Morgan and Haley to feel comfortable enough to open up and be completely truthful.

Morgan is a twenty-year-old, Junior in college. She is very family oriented and constantly going to church and talking about her love of Christ. She had a very black and white upbringing growing up in the suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama. “We had a Facebook page called ‘What is going on in Vestavia’ where members of the community constantly posted pictures and updates to keep the public in the loop of what everyone is doing, saying, wearing, dating, etc.” Morgan, despite finding herself constantly updating the page and being plugged into different social media outlets, described the lack of privacy she felt since everyone seemed to know everything about anyone.

“I decided to deactivate my social media (Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Facebook) after my boyfriend, Jeremy, and I broke up. My self-worth diminished and I began looking for reasons as to what was wrong with me that he so desperately wanted to leave me.” It was relatively difficult at first, but once she started finding alternative means of spending her time like reading, going to church, studying, spending face-to-face time with her friends, she started feeling a lot better about herself. “I did not realize how much time I truly spent scrolling through the different networking sites, and how much it affected who I was and how I wanted to present myself online. Taking a break was the best thing I could have done for myself when I was in that self-destructive mindset.” She explained to me in great detail that she would gladly do it again if a situation presents itself that deems it necessary.

Haley is a nineteen-year-old, Junior in college who is heavily influenced by social media. When Haley came to college, she gained weight as many freshmen do their first year away from home. She explained how insecure she felt about her weight gain and how it impacted her social life and her well-being. Despite following “fitspiration” pages on Instagram and researching numerous diet and work out plans from Pinterest, it actually discouraged Haley. “No matter how much time I put into food preparation or working out I felt hopeless because I could never look the same way as they do.” Like many girls who share her demographic, Haley started to feel depressed and alone. She began skipping meals regularly and the food she did eat was not adequate enough to support her physically and mentally.

Haley sought comfort in one of her sorority sisters who had been struggling with the same insecurities and eating behaviors as she did. The two of them vowed to support each other in times of weakness. “I deactivated my Instagram because my friend told me how much it helped her when she decided to give up. She was completely right. The time I would typically spend on finding meal plans and work out regiments, I used it to focus on what my body and mind needed.” Haley contributes her growth completely on deactivating her Instagram and the help of a friend experiencing the same troubles. “I guess you could say I relapsed when I reactivated my Instagram. I saw a lot of the old fitspiration pages I used to religiously devote my time to and I did experience negative body image.”