There are many times where I wonder what my generation would do without social media. I am certain that I would not have all of the friends that I do now, as some of my best friendships were started through social media recognition, but I am also sure that we may be much happier than we are now.

I really do feel like we cannot go to a single event without documenting each and every part of what we do, which is sad because we never actually get to experience anything without the nagging pressure in the back of our minds to take photos to capture these moments. Half of the people I know plan out their Instagram captions before even taking the photo, which shows that we consistently have our social media appearances on our minds.

All of these unrealistic and unattainable expectations are only amplified by social media. It is almost too easy to compare our lives to everyone that we see on our timelines; I mean, social media was ultimately created to share intimate details of our lives with those who care about us (or the other 100's of followers you may have.) I read a novel the other day that reminded me of the immense pressure we are put under as teenagers, college students, and young adults. We are expected to thrive in every aspect of our lives: academic, personal, emotional, and participate in a plethora of extracurriculars that will eventually lead us to save the world or cure cancer.

But wait.. the truth is, social media is not at all intimate in any way; in my opinion, it is one of the biggest illusions there are. Our profiles are entirely curated to show people the aspects of what we want our followers to see. This usually comes in the form of achievements or positive announcements (new jobs, academic achievements, marriage, babies, etc.)

Although it may seem like a personal view of that person's life, it is actually extremely impersonal. With the snapshot photos or short videos, we are only viewing glimpses of their lives, and usually the parts they are comfortable enough to share with the world; it does not get more surface level than that.

Our Instagram profiles and Facebook timelines portray a completely filtered view of our lives. We completely miss out on the personal aspects of peoples lives such as how they actually feel, what they actually think, and what they are actually experiencing. We should be extremely careful when passing judgment or making assumptions about someone's life just from their social media presence, as they are so much more than the photos they post or the number of likes they receive.

We are humans with delicate feelings, intricate thoughts, and lives that would take several novels to write all of our stories and experiences. We should remember to experience moments for the sheer experience rather than focusing our energy on taking the perfect photo.