Do you ever think about the things you do that you may not even realize you do? For instance, going to the bathroom or writing your name down on a piece of paper; Things you don’t consciously go, "okay this is how this works.” Things that ultimately become familiar.

I used to think of myself as “not as bad” in comparison to other people my age when it came to social media. But I also never thought much about it when I was on different platforms. It was like I would log onto Instagram or YouTube without blinking an eye as if my hands had a mind of their own; a routine.

Waiting for my Friday afternoon class to begin one day, an article came across my Facebook feed describing a child who was so consumed in social media that he mistook “subscribe” for the word “goodnight.” The young boy being around the age of four, he genuinely didn’t know he had said anything wrong.

Isn’t that in a sense wrong?

That a toddler can have an entire database of YouTube videos in their brain to be recalled upon at any given moment. To mistake an everyday phrase for one heard most often online.

The thing that freaked me out the most was that prior to speaking to one of my family members and seeing more and more articles arise about the side effects of social media, I never truly thought about the subject. It was just something I did. I would wake up and check Instagram or go to bed and watch YouTube. How could I form a habit that used up so much of my time and life without even realizing I had done so?

The thought brought about one thought after another until I got to the question of how exactly was social media impacting society as a whole?

As if overnight, a majority of society had become a platform for back pains and low social skills. The use of internet made society comfortable with the comparison of what I have versus what you have.

Over the past few years, research on the subject has shown a rise in cyberbullying, restlessness, sadness, jealousy, dependency, and more. Social media has changed not only what we do, but who we are as people and what we value in life. Somewhere along the line, we started to count individuals not as people, but as a number of followers.

And what could we do?

Social media is addictive with over 63% of society logging onto Facebook alone and 40% checking the site more than once on a daily basis. It’s hard to stop.

Use social media, but use it in moderation. It’s an odd thing to get used to and a tough habit to break, but not impossible. Try to experience a concert without snapping the entire show or make an effort to avoid Instagram in class for an hour.

Try to think about how much your life may be revolving around your phone and the times when you use it versus the times when you don’t.

Restating what I said previously, I am just as guilty as the rest when it comes to the internet. However, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to put down the phone more often and reconnect with reality. I understand that it’s a somewhat controversial topic and may come off as hypocritical at times, but don’t let social media become a new kind of addiction amongst others.