"It is not that we are necessarily doing anything worse or more often than the generations that have come before us. We drink just as much, we have just as much sex, and we are making very similar mistakes. But we have the burden of immediate publicity to carry with us."
Being 20 has never been easy. The issues that we are faced with have evolved with us over time, but humans have forever dealt with the same innate struggles. Now, more than ever, being 20 is not easy.
We view technology as something that is propelling the world, keeping us informed on a minute-to-minute basis. The thing that is thought to be revolutionizing the world is what’s making it harder to live in. Our generation is the last generation that will remember a time before iPhones and Facebook. Even for me at 19, every year it gets harder to remember the days when family dinners didn’t include the reminder to “put your phone away.” Our younger siblings, our younger peers and especially our children will never know a time when you did things because you wanted to do them, because you wanted to feel that moment- not because they would get you likes on an Instagram or shares on Facebook.
Do not get me wrong, I am a 20-year-old college student who is required to do 95 percent of my classwork online; I see the benefits of technology. I have felt the ego boost that comes from a successful social media endeavor. However, like with all things I think it is important to see and experience both sides. My mom might hate it, but I question everything. What kind of conversations are we missing out when we are sitting next to each other on the bus, thumb to screen, pointer finger pointedly holding phone in place, flipping through photos from people we don’t really care about, doing things we don’t really care about? How often do you see teenagers out to eat together but all on their phones?
If something big is happening within a ten-mile radius of my house, I can count on social media to let me know. And, how lucky are we to live in a privileged society where information is exchanged so effortlessly?
On the other hand, I know it’s snowing outside, you do not need to Instagram about it. I get you and your boyfriend just broke up, you do not need to tweet Taylor Swift lyrics to confirm that fact. I get that you are eating a bagel sandwich, no need to Snapchat story it. (Ok, I take that one back- keep those coming.)
I, like most other people living in a first world country who have an iPhone, have done all of these things time and time again. So, maybe this is hypocritical. So be it because social media is getting us in trouble. It is not that we are necessarily doing anything worse or more often than the generations that have come before us. We drink just as much, we have just as much sex, and we are making very similar mistakes. But we have the burden of immediate publicity to carry with us. No more can you take a night too far without living with the consequences forever. You will find out who people are hooking up with based on their top friend on Snapchat, you will find out where everyone is going out tonight because they geo-tagged their location on Instagram and you will get mad when you are tagged in unflattering photos on Facebook. That is just the reality that we, and the generations after us, will have to live with.
I will probably go out to dinner with my boyfriend tonight and go through my daily routine of Instagram-Facebook-Snapchat-Repeat the whole ride to the restaurant. You will probably text all the way to class tomorrow morning. Articles like this don’t change something that has already happened. But, think about all of the things you could do though if you closed the screen to your laptop right now and stepped away.
