Please keep in mind this is from my own point of view.
Our generation is addicted to our smartphones—we hear it all of the time. We wake up in the morning, and our instinct is to check our phones for notifications; we say were "going to sleep," but we really stay up for hours checking Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter. We immediately ask for the WiFi password, no matter where we are—we need it. We have anxiety if we leave our phones at home or if it isn't in our hands at all times. We get upset if we don't get as many likes on our latest Instagram post as we expected (sometimes even deleting it). We freak out if our crush is suddenly "in a relationship" on Facebook or likes another girl's pictures. The constant communication has caused an anxiety epidemic among Generation Y.
Sometimes it feels like our lives would be so much easier without smartphones and this instant communication with the world that we have grown accustomed to. Our parents were forced to actually call their crush's house (gasp!), and just prayed that the parents didn't answer the phone. If you can remember, up until about 2009, our generation actually called our friends to ask if they could hang out that day (bigger gasp!).
In 2012, the Psychology Department at Michigan State University conducted a study on the correlation between social anxiety and social media use:
“One possibility is that the more people multitask, the more anxious they get,” he said. “Another is that the more anxious and depressed people are, the more they multitask.”
The study also looked into the idea that people with higher social anxiety levels may overcompensate by increasing their social media use.
Have you ever scrolled through Instagram for hours, sometimes even comparing your profile to others? You know, those skinny, perfect "Insta-famous" girls drinking mimosas in France on the beach with their model friends and model boyfriend. And you're thinking, "Does this person have a job?" and wondering how you get a life like that. Well don't. Social media only shows a small part of a person's life, usually only the positive parts. Because why would we ever post a selfie of us hungover with last night's makeup all over our face? It would get no likes, and what would our followers think?!
Don't get me wrong, I love my iPhone and social media. However, there is no doubt that social media and texting has heightened my anxiety as well as many others my age. Social media has become a competition almost to see who can brag about their lives more. It is about who goes on the best vacations, who has the best relationship, the best clothes, and so on. We want to portray a "cool" image to our followers and "friends" like we're not actually worrying about the amount of likes our latest Instagram gets. Instagram bloggers and models today are literally making six-figure salaries due to this idea. One Instagram model is earning more than your average surgeon—is this scary, or have we just accepted it?
Generation Y is unlike any other generation before because of our technological advances. Social media adds a lot of positivity to our lives as well; it lets us see important things happening in the world, helps us get jobs, lets us express ourselves, and helps us connect to the people we love. But sometimes it feels like we are just too connected. We need some space (it's not you, it's my anxiety).
