In a fast-paced world made of wires, keyboards and screens, it is hard to slow down and unplug yourself from the technology that has replaced genuine communication. I have recently realized how unfortunate it is that lots of millennials cannot go a day without posting on some form of social media. Lately, it seems as if showing the world you are having a good time is more important than actually having a good time. If you were to go on Instagram or Facebook, you would find a timeline full of photos that seem spur of the moment but are actually completely made up. It is like looking through a keyhole into someone else’s life. You only see a tiny fragment of what people want you to see. I know it is not fair for me to judge what people want to post on social media. But it really bothers me that it has become common for people to plan these pseudo-candid photos whenever they go out. I don’t understand this obsession with fabricating authentic moments. Maybe it’s the newfound attention from posting something online that people crave, or the need to capture every single moment on camera that has to be satisfied. But there is no real feeling in the pictures that, right before it was taken, someone said, “OK, now make it look like we’re laughing.”

Not that long ago, I lusted after social media’s attention. I thought it was important that people saw what I was doing at all times. I always had my eyes glued to my phone screen, until one day, I looked up. I saw that most people would much rather look at their phone at the dinner table than have a conversation with the person sitting in front of them. I saw that some people valued the approval of 50 random likes on their photos more than the approval of an actual human being. Reality really slapped me in the face that day.

The thing that I have learned in my short time on earth— and the thing that I think more people need to work on— is living in the moment. That might be the grand-daddy of all clichés, but I think people have forgotten how to do that. However, I don’t think humanity is too far gone. They just need to be reminded that the right way to watch a sunset is through your own two eyes, not the screen of your cell phone. The best way to appreciate the beauty of another person is to look at their face and see their imperfections that make them perfect. You can’t capture the beauty of a moment or how it made you feel on camera. It’s hard to remember those moments when you have your nose stuck to a phone screen. Don’t get me wrong, I think social media is a great way to stay connected to people, and it is very nice to have pictures to remember people and places. But I don’t think it is necessary to have these photos for the sole purpose of posting them online to get a lot of likes. It's nice to have some photos just for yourself. So forget about planning “candid” poses and taking pictures of every little thing that you do. Because the best way to make a memory is to live it.