A couple of weeks ago, I went with a group of friends to our school's homecoming game. I noticed that as my friends and I were screaming after every touchdown and getting really into the game, people all around us were watching the game through their phones. Everyone on their phones was so fixated on adding to their snap story or taking a perfect picture that they weren't actually experiencing everything around them. We were having such different experiences that it was hard to believe we were in the same place.

That got me thinking, why do we rely on our phones to make a moment memorable?

We live in a society where everybody is obsessed with showcasing their lives through social media. Every time you check in on social media, you can't help but notice the videos your friend posted during an entire concert or the carefully constructed photo of a latte on Instagram. While social media provides us with an amazing opportunity to share our lives with others, have you ever noticed that it has hindered our ability to live in the moment?

For a long time, I have been completely oblivious to how much time I spend seeing life through a screen. Whether I'm at brunch, trying to get the perfect pic to use for an Instagram post, or taking videos on a night out with friends, I've always been living life through my phone.

Recently I have noticed that scrolling through my past posts has left me feeling unfulfilled. I see photos from so many different moments in my life and feel like I never really lived them. I've spent so much time posting moments from my life to share with the world that I forgot what truly matters: living in the moment.

I decided that I was tired of my life feeling like a collection of moments, so recently, I've given myself opportunities to detach from social media. I enjoy going for runs around Lake Monona. Usually, on my runs, I rush to post a photo highlighting the view for the world to see. However, during my latest run, I allowed myself to actually experience the moment by taking in my surroundings. I noticed things that I didn't before, like the invigorating breeze from the lake, and the sound of people skipping stones nearby. It's amazing how much more we notice when we're not focused on our phones.

When I took a step back from social media, I was able to appreciate where I was and the people around me so much more.

We have become so accustomed to creating our lives through social media. We choose what to post based on what will get us the most likes as if that will determine if a moment in our lives is important.

It's easy to get caught up in this mindset. I have been for a long time. But at the end of the day, life should be about more than gaining approval on social media. We need to allow ourselves to experience moments because what we feel during these moments can't be experienced through a screen.

So next time you find yourself reaching for your phone to capture an experience, I encourage you to forget about social media for a moment. Just allow yourself to live. When we look back later in life, the experiences we had and the people we were with will matter so much more than any amount of likes we ever got on a picture.