Being a millennial, it is inescapable to not be consumed into the world of social media. But when do we, as millennials, draw the line, put down our phones and really become social beings? It is no wonder people are so insecure and depressed these days compared to years ago. Back then people only knew what they were doing and made the best of it in that moment. Today, people can see what everyone is doing at any point in time, but only in the edited and perfect version, thus making people feel ugly and unsatisfied with their own lives. It makes it hard to be an individual when you are trying to be like everyone else. Although social media comes with a lot of positives aspects, we cannot forget the negative ones.
1. You can easily judge people.
Before you know someone, you already have your mind made up about who they are and what they do.
2. Likes do not determine love.
Whether it is two or 20,000 likes; at the end of the day, your followers don't mean a thing. All that matters are the family and friends you are surrounded by.
3. It is NOT a platform to complain.
Everyone knows how hard finals and waking up at 7am are, so there is no need to remind everyone. Vent to family or friends, not followers!
4. People do not need to see everything.
Today we feel the need to share every waking moment with our followers, "friends" and friendly "snap chatters." Whether you are at a raging party or sipping your macchiato... live in the moment, not the filter or geotag. People become as deletable as insta pictures
5. People become as deletable as insta pictures
Having a fight with your boyfriend...delete. Your best friend lied to you...delete. You are mad at so and so that day...delete. Our relationships becomes as deletable as our Instagram pictures.
6. Being "Picture Perfect"
Taking on a new meaning in our generation, being "picture perfect" means ONLY showing your best side. Taking over 100 pictures to get the one you think looks good enough. Sentences like "I look too fat!", "That's my bad side", and "Just one more...I want to post this" become our daily lingo. We worry way too much about what people think!
7. We spend too much time taking and editing pictures
Think of the last time you went somewhere and did not take a picture. How long did it take you to choose between "Juno" and "Valencia" on Instagram? How much time are we wasting posing and editing our lives away?
8. It does not give you the right to be mean
We are all aware of cyber bullying, but it is a bigger issue than we perceive it as. Passive aggressive tweets, uncalled for comments on pictures- Just because we can't physically see you does not mean it should be anymore acceptable. Don't hide behind screens!
9. Increased narcissism or insecurity?
Has social media given us an opportunity to show how beautiful we know we are, or a way to acceptably fish for compliments?
10. We do not see the BIG picture
When we are old and gray, we are going to have a lot of memories to look back on. But hopefully, we remember them by our memory and not by our timelines! Let's hope we can look back and remember our days in high school and our adventurous college years; the times we made mistakes and the times we took a chance, or we can continue to keep scrolling and keeping our attention to a six-second minimum. You decide.
I am guilty of all these things but I realize as a generation we have to do better. After all, we are the future!
