The other night around 10:00 PM, I made a knee-jerk decision to delete the famous (or infamous depending on who you are talking to), Snapchat. I have done it in the past, but I think I will keep off of the app for good this time. Now don't get me wrong, the app is definitely fun! It is an easy source of entertainment, provides us with the best of humor, and is a convenient way to keep up with what our friends are doing. However, Snapchat definitely has its cons.

For one, the app inflicts the deadliest of angsts... FOMO. I can honestly say that I have suffered from FOMO in the past, but I don't really let it get to me anymore. My biggest problem with the app was using it for the wrong reasons. Snapchat has a way of making people feel like they aren't doing enough. My issue was that I had succumbed to the world of "look at me, look at me" (said in Kat Stratford voice). Because, if we are being completely honest with ourselves, a huge reason we use Snapchat as a social media outlet is to make other people jealous. Obviously a lot of social media is used for this reason, but Snapchat is the easiest way to go about it. You can literally snap a pic of the food you're eating, the bar you're at, the friends you're with, the country you're in, etc., and throw it out there for an entire group of people to see! Or, you can zone in on individuals to send your pictures to, in hopes of a response, or to spark envy. Neither of these really end up making you feel good.

Another huge thing I have noticed even after deleting the app only a few days ago, is that I am not constantly worried about what I look like at the present moment. When I used Snapchat, I probably checked to see what I looked like on my camera screen about twice an hour. Oh, and don't even get me started on the amount of selfies the app produces. I am a product of this, as well as many others. I hate being vain, but can you say vain?!? I realized how self-absorbed this is of me, and how insecure it is. So I deleted the app to prevent this.

I guess I began to realize that what is most important to me are the people I have in my life and how we have bonded. The people I consider my best friends are not people that I sent 'snaps' to everyday. They are not the people that frequently replied to my posts or watched my 'snap story'. They are the people that have made time to engage with me in one-on-one time, with real and deep conversation. They are people who know me in and out, who are there when things get rough, and who appreciate even the quirkiest parts of me. I feel as though deleting the app will really help me appreciate the people around me and my interactions with others. If I want to know what someone is doing, I can call, instead of looking through photos. If I don't feel comfortable calling, then that person probably was not worth my time to begin with. This all made me understand how crazy it is that we try so hard to impress people that we don't know well, or don't even know at all.

Again, I am only really focusing on the negatives of Snapchat here, so my reasons for deleting it are definitely my own. I am in no way trying to convince other people to delete the app, I am merely trying to share why I find that for a generation that already relies so heavily on the world of social media, it can be detrimental. Social media is literally addictive... it acts like a drug. When people respond positively to one's social media, it creates a fleeting confidence boost. When there is a negative response or no response at all, it can destroy self-esteem. I am trying to relinquish myself of the addictive properties of technology and create better relationships with the real people around me. Snapchat is not the bane of my existence, and it is not the cause of my insecurities or anything of the sort. I want to look people in the eye during conversations instead of looking down at a phone. I want to stop worrying about appearance instead of always trying to prove myself. I want to appreciate moments instead of trying to document everything.