Teens and social media often go hand in hand with as many as 94 percent of teenagers having at least one account. But while there are perks to its use, there are some downsides with some students undertaking a social media cleanse and giving up their account.

“I was really feeling the negative effects of social media,” sophomore Alex Rocha said. “I kind of forced myself to wake and realize what’s really around me. I noticed my priorities were changing and it couldn’t stay that way.”

A Pew research study found that the younger a person is, the harder it can be to part ways with social media. However, sophomore Katie Gray is one of the estimated 58 percent of teens that have started to put their phones down.

“I began playing the comparison game, and that’s never good,” Gray said. “I came to a conclusion that I wasn’t enjoying the life God has given me. I got too caught up in trying to enhance my ‘online life’ that I forgot to live life to the fullest, without worrying about likes, comments, or quick responses.”

The reasons for undertaking a social media cleanse share a similar origin story amongst students that have forgone apps such as Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.

“I began to prioritize it over things I shouldn’t,” sophomore Katie Stoker said. “It’s been so eye opening now that I am on the cleanse, I’m on my phone way less now. It’s such a relief not having to worry about keeping it all up.”

With teenagers reported to consume up to nine hours each day of media, and 30 percent of that time devoted to social media use, Stoker suggests more teen go for a social media cleanse.

“I would go for it,” Stoker said. “Do it. Don’t listen to what others may say because they may think you are kind of crazy. Yet it’s so worth it. I’ll just say, you don’t realize how eye opening it is until you try it for yourself.”