Inspired by Essena O’Neill’s impassioned rant in November, I decided to delete all the social media apps on my phone. I was sick of comparing my “behind the scenes” image with everyone else’s perfectly-curated images. I thought if I got rid of social media altogether, I would magically become a better, more confident, happier person.

　　去年十一月，澳洲网红艾森娜·奥尼尔疯狂大哭后退出了社交媒体。受此激励，我决定删除手机上所有社交软件。我已经受够了将自己的“壁花”照片同其他人精心P过的照片来对比。我原以为如果我能完全脱离这些社交媒体，我就能神奇地变得更好、更自信、更快乐。

　　(I didn’t actually delete any accounts, though. There was a little bit of comfort knowing that if it didn’t work, I could just redownload them. And I did, like, a week later.

　　(事实上，我并没有删除任何账号。一想到即便它们现在无法使用，但我只需要再次下载，我多少有点安慰。而在一周后我也确实这样做了。)

　　My one week of social-media-less-ness was definitely more productive than normal, but I didn’t really feel like my life was drastically transformed. I was just unable to reply to Snapchats or to validate my self worth via Instagram likes. In reality, our generation is reliant on social media, whether we like it or not. And it’s pretty impossible to cut it out of your life.

　　没有社交媒体的一周确实较平时更有效率，但是我并没有感到生活发生了翻天覆地的变化。我只是无法在Snapchats(一款“阅后即焚”照片分享应用)上作出回复，或是通过Instagram(一款图片社交应用)等证明我的个人价值。事实上，无论喜欢与否，我们这一代人已经离不开社交媒体。要想完全将其脱离你的生活，几乎是不可能的事。

　　But if you feel like social media is bringing you down, there are changes you can make without going completely off the grid.

　　但是，如果你觉得社交媒体让你变得不开心，你没必要玩失踪，只需要做出一些改变。

　　Go to bed without your phone.

　　别把手机带上床。

　　Leave it across the room when you go to sleep. This is probably the hardest thing ever, but you don’t need to live and breathe social media. If you can’t fall asleep without scrolling through Instagram, that’s probably a red flag.

　　当你睡觉的时候，把手机放在床以外的地方。这可能对你来说非常困难，但是你没必要同社交媒体同床共枕。如果你睡觉非得刷刷Instagram, 那你得敲敲警钟了。

　　Work on your image.

　　个人形象下功夫。

　　In real life. It’s risky to define yourself by how you’re represented online. Channel your energy into something in the real world that makes you proud.

　　我说的是在现实生活中。用社交网络上的形象来定义自己是非常危险的。把你的精力投入在真实世界吧，让你变得更自信。

　　Unfollow your “fitspo” accounts.

　　别再关注“健美”账号。

　　These are literally the root of all evil. You don’t need to be bombarded on the daily with images of people whose body proportions are humanly unattainable. There’s nothing inspiring about that.

　　这简直是万恶之源。你没必要每天被他人的照片所炮轰，这些照片上的人的身体比例简直是人类无法企及的。这些照片也不会激励你什么。

　　Unfollow/Unfriend your ex.

　　和前任说再见。

　　If your social media stalking has become problematic, you probably know it. It’s hard to get over someone when you have constant updates on where he is, who he’s with, and what he ate for breakfast.

　　如果你的社交媒体追踪已经变得不正常了，你可能要意识到这一点。当你一直关注某个人时，你会不断刷他的朋友圈，想知道到他在哪，和谁在一起，早餐吃了什么，这会让你很难彻底与他断绝关系。

　　Learn how to be alone.

　　学会自处。

　　In a world where we are constantly connected, social media can create an illusion that we are never alone—or that it’s weird to be alone. It’s important to take some time for yourself.

　　在这样一个实时沟通的世界，社交媒体给我们创造了这样一个假象：我们从来没有独处过——或者说独处是一件奇葩事。但是，给自己点时间是非常重要的。

　　Being alone DOES NOT equal being lonely. If you don’t love hanging out with you, how can you expect anybody else to?

　　独处并不意味着孤独。如果你连自己都处不来，怎么能期望别人会愿意同你相处呢?

（编辑：何莹莹）