You are flipping through your Snapchat stories and you see all your "friends" out to dinner without you. Your heart sinks and you immediately begin to feel resent: all because of a picture.
This is not atypical in today's society, with social media controlling the way we act, feel, think, and portray ourselves. Though I am a culprit of checking my apps repeatedly, I think that for the sanity of our generation; it is time to stop bullying on social media. Stop trying to make others feel excluded. Stop trying to make yourself appear clear-skinned, tanned, sparkling-toothed. What does this do for us in the end? While social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter can be used to keep in touch with distant friends and family, that is hardly what it is used for.
It is used for "look how tan I am", "look where I am on vacation", "look at these people that I am with, aren't I pretty cool?" Not to mention, how draining it is to stay up late at night scrolling through endless feeds; feeling like your life simply just does not match up to the lives of those around you. You constantly feel the need to wear what everyone else is wearing and follow the trends just to get "likes". People now are so insensitive to the feelings of those around them, we have become numb to the to hurt we feel due to pictures and stories.
As college students, we are at a time in our lives where we are supposed to be exploring and establishing things like careers, friendships, relationships, internships, etc. Do we really have time to be wasting on posting every second and every experience of our lives on the internet for everyone else to envy over, or to sympathize with? We should be taking in experiences, and learning more about ourselves, not trying to appear a certain way; a way that society approves of. Sure, it is great to take pictures, but make them meaningful. At the end of the day, what are we going to do with the 983 photos in our camera roll? Most of those will never even make it to social media.
Let’s start lifting our eyes from the screens, and lowering them to the pages of a book. Try joining clubs, starting movements, making a change in your community. We are adults, and while half the time our lives are messy and stressful, our voices can be used for so much more than Snapchat stories and finsta captions (although I must admit, I am entertained at the amount of work and effort goes into making a humorous caption on a picture from a long night out).
Let's stop using our voices for immature things, and use them to advocate for change. Use our cameras for capturing moments and nature, not selfies and 9 minute long videos of concerts. Experience the world around you with no ulterior motives. Live life for YOU, not your followers; 30 years from now you will not regret it.