When my generation was born, computers were a luxury that most only dreamed of having. The internet we know today, smartphones, apps, emojis; These things didn't exist. In the year 2000 people feared that computers would take over the world, and those fears weren't all that irrational. It might not be robots walking around shooting people or your home desktop scheming your demise but in my opinion, that wouldn't have been so bad compared to what happened instead. While I agree that technology has done some amazing things over the years for science and medicine, our government, revolutionizing the way a business is run, making it possible to speak to people almost face to face on the opposite side of the world and so much more, it has also brought to light some negative things as well.
Social sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and others are somewhat of a norm now. If you don't have an account on one or all of these sites you are labeled as "weird" or "lame" for not doing so. For me, I feel like middle school and high school would have been scads easier if these sites didn't exist. In my world, they caused more drama than they were worth. Now that I am going to a college far away from home, these websites are a great way to keep in contact with my friends and family back home. I have the ability to post photos of the adventures I go on, see what everyone else is doing, interact with people I haven't seen in months and more. For that I am thankful that social media exists, but it can still cause quite a bit of drama in my life.
Sites like this can be a cyber bullying hub. Cyber Bullying is an act of bullying that has become unfortunately more popular in the last five years or so. In high school, my best friend was the victim of bullying on Twitter and Facebook by one of the girls in our class. Now, this isn't the worst case I have heard of, but it impacted her in a negative way. Cyber bullying can be anything from making an inappropriate comment on someone's profile to posting photos or videos of a person that they did not want on the internet. The biggest problem with this type of bullying is that the bully is able to hide behind a screen. This means they cannot see what they are doing to the victim and therefor are more likely not to feel guilty for it. If they can't see the tears streaming down that girls face, it's almost as if it isn't happening. They can even post things anonymously so no one knows who is saying it. This is only one of many problems with growing up in a world where technology takes precedence over human interaction.
I noticed the other day when my family was out for dinner, we all ordered our food and then immediately zoned into our phones. Every single one of us. Whether we were scrolling through Instagram, playing games, or watching videos, all conversation ceased until our food came. And even while we were eating, everyone was constantly checking their phones for new messages. We are all stuck in this world where our beauty is measured by the number of "likes" we get on our latest selfie. A world where emotions no longer exist and are instead replaced with emoticons. This is a world where we are seen as being a loser if we don't have enough "followers," like we are leading some kind of cult. A world where we spend hours pinning ideas to a board on Pinterest instead of actually doing these things. A world where dating has been reduced to swiping left and right on Tinder. Do not get me wrong, this does not mean I am going on a technology cleanse (it's a real thing, probably originated in L.A.), but I am not going to let these things sit on the throne of my life. I still enjoy being able to see my siblings going to their first school dances or videos of their sporting events even if I am 600 miles away. I will continue to FaceTime my mom almost every night. I will enjoy the pleasures of online banking, streaming shows and movies on Netflix and snapping some selfies for Snap Chat every now and then. I will continue to use the internet to help me better understand my homework, see the latest news stories, and keep up with the presidential race. But I will not be offended when my photo only gets 12 likes, I will not let a screen name be my sole identity and I will not be defined by my social media.
