In today’s world if you go somewhere but didn’t tweet, snap, post, or check in, did you really go there? How will the social media sphere know you were actually there or if you were #lovinglife? With today’s influx of available social media, it makes it hard to enjoy engaging moments with friends and family. The artificial moment begins to surpass the real world ones, but that doesn’t mean you should fall prey to the constraints of the social media sphere. I can honestly say from personal experience, breaking free and taking a step back from the digital world to enjoy the real world might just be the most liberating thing you do all day.
According to a study done by Deloitte, the average person in the United States between the ages of 18 and 24 checks their phone a whopping 74 times a day. An overwhelming concern is that a solid amount of these checks are not during a down moment, but rather during a significant event or activity. No matter where you are—a classroom, a restaurant, a concert, or grabbing coffee with friends—take a look around at all the faces plastered against their smartphone screens. These silent moments spent with your family and friends with the occasional comment about how many ‘likes’ someone got are not the moments you will remember and cherish for time to come.
Although I do agree that pictures help collect memories, a picture or two would suffice for this purpose. I don't believe in taking 100 redos if your hair was not blowing perfectly in the wind or if your arm looks extra-large and in charge in the first 99 photos. Not only does having a full-blown photo shoot take away from the moment but proceeding to edit, touch up and beautify each photo until it is ‘gram worthy’ takes just enough time for you to miss the moment altogether. On top of missing the moment don't forget to add alienating any friend or family member you should have been enjoying the moment with to the list.
Another significant downfall to mention with today's social media crazed devotees is the need for social status. Just because you visited four more exotic places this summer than the next person does not grant you a higher status than them. Not to mention having more ‘likes’, ‘followers’, or ‘friends’ does not mean that is the same case in real life and isn't that what matters more? Reality. Real life fun. Living in the real moment—not the virtual moment —seems more thrilling to me than mindlessly refreshing your social newsfeed to make sure everyone in the digital world knows you're having fun.
A pressing matter as the social media moment begins to monopolize the real-life moment is accuracy. People complain all the time about celebrities editing and photoshopping themselves to solidify a fake image of perfection and happiness, but social media gives the everyday person that exact same opportunity to portray their lifestyle as the perfect, carefree, and fun environment they want it to be. But if all your concerns are focused on what other people are thinking and how they are feeling towards you and your ‘most viewed moments’, actually enjoying those moments seems to be placed on the backburner until it is no longer a thought or necessity.
The main point of going somewhere or doing something becomes to create a sense of envy. Desperately struggling to maintain a feeling of envy from your social followers ultimately evokes undeniably negative feelings. Instead of going out to enjoy life and add some genuine fun to your day, you've successfully managed to do just the opposite. The fear of unacceptance or insufficient attention in the social media realm is enough to ruin anyone's moment or day...if you let it.
With the relentless availability of social media at the very tip of our fingers, technology has started developing ways for us to fight back our cravings. There are now several apps available to help control or limit your social media use. Apps such as offtime, space, and moment help place limitations on just how much time you can spend on social media sites. By placing goals and limitations on your social media use, you can still be engaged with the social sphere but without allowing yourself to be entirely constrained by it and disconnected from the real world. There is a big difference between the occasional use of social media to stay up to date with family and friends compared to the unhealthy overuse of social media as a tool for comparisons and social adequacy.
In the pre-social media and smartphone days, going to a fancy restaurant or taking a vacation with someone meant you were able to indulge in food and conversations and share real time laughs together instead of sharing a snap of your strategically placed food or fake laugh, ‘candid’ pictures on your timeline. If everyone could just lift their eyes and noses from their 5-inch smart phones and actually smell the roses or watch the sunrise without posting #nofilter, I think the world would be a much happier and engaging place.
