When you wake up in the morning, what is the first thing you do? Most people would say check social media. Wake up, roll over, pick up your phone, check Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, then finally get out of bed 15 minutes later. Social media has become so widespread that it is consuming our lives.

Obviously, this does not apply to everyone, but most people, especially younger generations are too concerned with our image online. Everyone is worried about where everyone else is on their Snapchat story or how many likes they are getting on Instagram. Social media is a great tool to stay in touch with friends and keep family updated on our lives, but there are also many negative aspects about social media.

In a way, social media has actually made us less social. Too many times do people meet over social media and are able to have great conversations over text, and then have terrible communication skills face to face. Too many times do people start fights over Twitter or Facebook but would never actually say those things in person. We like to call these type of people “keyboard warriors”. It’s a lot easier to say whatever you want behind a computer screen.

Nothing is worse than trying to tell a friend something important to you and they can’t get off their phone. Then, they ask questions that you already answered but they clearly weren’t listening. Nothing is worse than going out to eat with someone and trying to enjoy their company and they are too worried about texting other people or sending Snapchats.

It’s sad that people are judged based on how many Instagram followers they have or how any retweets their tweets get. It’s sad that people actually get anxiety about missing out on things they see other people are doing on social media. It’s sad that someone’s entire day can be ruined by seeing something they didn’t want to see. It’s sad that girls feel like they need to edit their pictures to the point that they become unrecognizable.

There are perks to social media. I enjoy a funny meme just as much as the next person. It has just gotten to the point where it is too much. It has become too intense and has changed the way we communicate and socialize with others for the worst.

We care too much about what other people are doing. We care too much about what other people think of us. We care too much in trying to look “cool”. We care too much about things we shouldn’t care about.

We should spend less time tweeting and more time reading. Less time refreshing Instagram and more time getting healthy. Less time texting and more time actually spending time with others. Less time watching Snapchat stories and more time watching a good movie.

It is not our fault we are like this. This is our generation. It is how we were raised. It is how we have always been. At the same time, it is never too late to change our ways.