Any click, swipe, tap of a phone and we're lost into the abyss of live feeds and Snapchat stories. Liking, commenting, or just simply checking in with various social media sites has become a part of our day-to-day life. The excuse of, "I'm sorry, I can't multi-task when I'm on my phone," while being ignored is not good enough anymore.
Anxiety. Another emotional drawback from social media. The fact that if you don't check all Snapchat stories or scroll through your entire Instagram feed or haven't updated your personal profile on Facebook can be stressful is frankly...embarrassing.
Social media is our drug, our society's get away. The high is our likes. Withdrawal is classes with no technology. Rehab is the social media challenge, in other words, trying to spend less time on social media and/or our phones. But, can a heroine addict quit if their drug of choice is constantly surrounding them?
The love for our phone is almost like the love the Beast has for Belle. When the Beast opens his eyes to his surroundings, he feels like he was seeing the beautiful snow and secret forest for the first time. If we put down our irrelevant piece of equipment, we might be able to obtain that sense of tranquility.
The older generation did not have social media when they were our age. On road trips, their TVs were the rolling hills outside, their friends were genuine and real-life people, not the amount of followers they had, and their experiences were for the memories, not for the Instagram.
Technology nowadays connects the whole world; the intertwining web that never stops getting weaved or tangled. However, the technological implications from avoiding social media involve a number of things. Online activities overall get limited, even Pandora accounts and the way various people listen to music are unavailable because social media allows for the connection to music apps through Facebook.
Therefore, connection to social media limits people to everything else: friends, family, school, music, memories, and much more. Access to memories, for example, photos on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., can be very beneficial. But, do people do it for the memories or, "Did I really go to Times Square if I didn't take a picture of it?" caption.
But, even if we decided to put the phone down, everyone around us would be taunting us with their phones, computers, and social media apps. The potential for getting in a Snapchat without meaning too or get tagged in a photo without trying is very evident. Escape? You can try. Is it possible? Only in a cabin in the middle of no where. The people who say they don't use social media...good for you. But, what about email? Texts? Calls? FaceTime? LinkedIn? It is our society today and it is only going to get worse.
Thus, instead of worrying about capturing the perfect picture of the sunset, just sit and enjoy it. Instead of worrying about how Instagram looks and what other people think, be confident in all aspects of life. Social media has hurt people, caused issues worldwide, and has created a new addiction that not only takes away the important things in your life, but creates distractions and problems within oneself and our personal relationships. However, social media can help or even make relationships, for example,
assist in long distance communication or dating websites. It can store
and recreate memories, unite different people, allow for easy access to
news or bloggers, and even has created the leap for new technology. Society can either be burdened or restored by social media and/or technology today, but that all depends on one thing: you.
