Social Media is everywhere. Literally everywhere. It seems impossible to avoid. Looking for a job? Try LinkedIn. Want to post the pictures from your spring break trip? Instagram is where it's at. Going out to eat? Better Snapchat it! Even the news, the way we learn about the world outside of ourselves, is heavily driven by Facebook and Twitter. And it needs to stop.
Before we begin, I'll be the first to admit that I've used various social media platforms heavily over the years. Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, etc. If it was "big" at some point, I very likely used it. I followed the trends, and even if I saw it as pointless, I was always one of the first to join a new platform. I was also one of the first to leave. What I saw in most of them wasn't social at all, it was just the opposite. Fights in were won and lost on Twitter. Snapchat left an indelible mark on my time in high school. Facebook, well, Facebook was different. If I had to only use one app for the rest of my life, it would be Facebook.
The big issue with Social Media isn't the principle — it's the execution. With each new profile, you create comes an expectation that you will bring 10 of your friends as well. On top of those 10 friends, you'll make 10 more. And 10 more after that. Social Media is a numbers game — in order to get the most reaction, you have to fill up your friends/followers list with people you've never even met. It was always a game growing up — and someone's social status more or less hinged on the number of followers/friends/likes they could get on Social Media.
But what exactly is a "friend"? Can any of us truly have hundreds (or thousands) of friends? Whether they know it or not, Facebook and Twitter are degrading the meaning of the word friend. It's not about who you know, or who you've met, it's about who you can lure into adding you. Most people I know have only met a small fraction of the "friends" that they have accrued, and there's something wrong with that.
A friend, to me, is someone that I've met. Someone that I've gotten to know personally, rather than someone whose life I've only known through what they post. Facebook or Twitter can make up any number they want for my friendships, but I've slowly come to realize that there is no point in striving for numbers in the hundreds or thousands. There is no point in striving for any number at all. Friendship is a personal connection, not a cyber connection.
After years of conditioning, it can be hard to break the habit of cyber-friendship, but it's the best thing you can possibly do. No matter what your numbers are, true friendships are the only ones that matter. Friends who will be there for you in the best and worst times, not the best and worst posts. Surround yourself with those friends, hang out with them often, and pay no mind to the numbers. Take a step back, detach from the cyber-world, and enjoy the moment. There will always be time for pictures later.
