This edition of Victor Views talks about "app-stinence," the active process of setting limits on or avoiding apps altogether. Pros? Cons? Let's talk.
Pranavi | Hearing About It
Have you heard of “app-stinence”? It is a growing trend among students and young adults who are choosing to step away from social media and addictive apps in order to regain focus and improve their mental well-being. The idea is not about rejecting technology completely. It is about setting healthy boundaries with it.
I have not tried app-stinence myself, but I find the concept really interesting. After reading stories from Harvard students who took extended breaks from social media and reported feeling calmer, more focused, and more present, I started to wonder what it would be like. In an article from Yahoo Life, young people talked about how stepping offline helped them feel less pressure to perform and compare. That really stuck with me.
Would I try it? Yes, I would. I think even a short break, such as a weekend without social media, could make a noticeable difference. It would give me a chance to reset, reflect, and engage more deeply with the people and experiences around me. I often catch myself scrolling without meaning to, losing time I could have spent doing something more fulfilling. Taking a pause sounds like a meaningful way to regain that time.
App-stinence does not have to mean deleting everything forever. It can simply be a mindful choice to log off and live more fully in the moment. For students at U-M who feel overwhelmed by constant notifications or the pressure of online life, this might be worth exploring. It is not about judging yourself for using apps. It is about recognizing when those apps start to use you.
Maybe the first step is just asking the question: What would my day look like without the scroll?
My | Trying It Out
Let’s be honest, who can live without a smartphone nowadays? I definitely can’t, and that’s why trying “app-stinence” was really hard for me. I kept hesitating and didn’t try it until just last week.
At the end of June, between sudden heavy rains and really hot sunny days, I decided to explore some parks and lakes around Ann Arbor. After finishing my work at school, I drove from campus toward Hamburg Lake and Independence Lake County Park. The drive wasn’t close, but the scenery along the way made me hold my breath.
For many people, nature views along roads in the US might not be anything new anymore. But for me, who grew up in a crowded city in Asia with tall buildings everywhere, the blue sky and fluffy white clouds, wildflowers lining the road, and the green tree canopies shading the street felt like a privilege. Sitting in the car watching the scenery pass by and then stopping at Independence Lake to swim, the hours passed so fast without my smartphone or social media. It was like time just flew by.
It made me remember my childhood. My generation grew up when the Internet was just beginning to change the world. But we still had summers when books were our closest friends. I used to read every page from morning till evening, then when the breeze came, I’d grab my bike and ride around with friends. The happiest moments were running outside to play in the rain and saving money for ice cream.
Looking back, it’s strange that we had summers like that without knowing what was out there in the big world. We just collected small moments of joy and made them into big happy memories. Summer was something we looked forward to all year, and we were always excited for it.
A day without my smartphone or social media apps probably didn’t change my whole view of the world since it’s a habit hard to break. But it reminded me of a simple peaceful childhood and made me want to come back to the small things from nature that can heal a restless heart chasing after the wide world out there.
Rocco | Adapting It to College Life
It could just be my friends and the people I spend the most time with, but the idea of “app-stinence” seems to be increasingly appealinge. The average American spends over 2 hours on social media every day. This means, along with sleep, work, eating, and other activities that comprise our lives, social media plays a central role. I have always had mixed views on social media. It can be a wonderful tool: a way to stay connected with family and friends in other parts of the world, or a means to access a wealth of information. However, as an economics major, I automatically wonder about the opportunity costs when I see people spending hours every day on these websites, and I think that’s where the real downside of social media comes into play.
During high school, I was incessantly on social media. First thing in the morning, I'd pick up my phone to check Snapchat and Instagram, and during off-time I’d scroll through TikTok. This habit was fine during high school, but once I got to college, I realized I needed to step up my game. Would spending three hours every day impact my ability to study and focus on my classes? I told myself that it would, so I took the step to delete social media from my phone.
It didn’t take me long to realize this was going to be tough. It was a weird feeling. Recently, I watched a video about boredom that explained that boredom isn’t just a feeling of nothingness; it’s actually a very negative feeling, sometimes one of existential dread that makes you anxious. This is how I felt when I suddenly deleted social media – it was as if a void had opened up in my life. To add to that, being greeted with no new notifications upon checking my phone only exaggerated these feelings. For a little while, I felt lonely. What would I do with all of this free time?
Without social media distracting me, I do believe I’ve been more productive. Not only has it enabled me to study more, but I also read a lot, go to the gym often, and I believe it has helped me understand myself better to an extent. We’ll see if the idea of “app-stinence” takes off or not. I will say that I believe it has been beneficial for me.