If you're anything like me, you may categorize yourself as an Instagram-aholic -- someone who quite literally cannot get enough of Instagram. Whether I'm in class, at dinner with my family or hanging out with friends, I'm probably scrolling through my insta feed. I have taken this addiction as far as turning down the brightness on my phone so I could check my insta while in the movies. I know, I have a problem, but the first step is admitting it.
However, I know I'm not alone in this addiction. Whether you care to admit it or not, social media dictates our lives. If it's not Instagram for you, it's probably Facebook or Twitter or Tumblr or Pinterest or something else. A social media addiction is a problem plaguing almost everyone living in the digital age.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to condemn social media. These apps and networks are great ways to stay updated with friends and family. I'm just trying to understand (and possibly eliminate) our dependency on them.
Who's liking what we post, who's retweeting what we tweet, who's sharing what we share; it all consumes our thoughts. These likes, shares, and favorites all give us some amount of gratification. But why? Why do we care more about the 13 people who liked our tweet enough to favorite it than we do about the people we are sitting in a room with? Life is happening around us but we are too busy posting about it to actually live it.
Take my Instagram addiction, for example. I'm walking the lakes with my friends and I want to post a photo of this moment. It would be one thing if I snapped a photo and quickly posted it or saved it to post later after our walk. That would be a good, healthy way to balance my actual life with my love for Instagram. However, that's not how it works. It will take me at least 17 tries to snap a photo I deem “insta-worthy." Then I'll spend the first bit of the walk editing the photo I chose, the next bit trying to come up with a caption and the rest checking to see how many likes my post has.
The only way to rid ourselves of the dependency we have on social media is to stop obsessing over it. This is not my way of saying “post less." Not at all. Snap that pic of your friends out to dinner or your family movie night. If you want to post it, then post it! But once it's posted, be done. Turn your phone off. Don't allow yourself to be consumed with who is liking your post of dinner with your friends. Instead, consume yourself with the friends you are at dinner with! Live in the moment. Designate times in your day when you allow yourself to aimlessly scroll. If it isn't one of those times, resist the urge. Pay attention in class, be involved in the conversation you're having, actually watch the movie.
Release yourself from your social media dependency and become an active participant in your own life.
