It’s 2016 and I’ve come to the realization that I have consistently based my social status on how many virtual “likes” I am receiving on social media. Can someone please tell me what the F**K is going on…

Let’s reflect for a quick second here… How many of you get anxious when waiting for notifications to come racing in when posting a picture? I know it can’t just be me.

What would you do without the constant reassurance that your cyber crushes DO like you in “real life” because they liked that selfie you just posted yesterday? Did it ever occur to you that perhaps it could simply be because boys think with their dicks and that’s where half of our likes are coming from? Pathetic I know.

Let’s have some self respect here. Did you seriously just push up your boobs to get more likes? Now don’t get me wrong I too have fallen victim to this world of embracing sexuality. I know the dream of becoming #Instafamous is always lurking and may cause you to make some naughty slip-ups.

Before meeting my current boyfriend, I would be constantly badgering my friends to pick out the perfect “selfie” in order to get the attention I desired from the opposite sex. Now, after developing this deeper connection with someone I truly care about, reality kicked in and my likes had abruptly decreased. Bummed and irritated I became hesitant to post. Then one day I magically came to the conclusion that more than half of my likes came from creepy guys trying to get in my pants. Now I have a BF who loves me, and no creepy stalkers. Can you say #WINNING?

Now I know I can’t possibly be the only young adult out there feeling this pressure to get more and more likes as time goes on. We millennials have a serious case of needing reassurance and getting that validation through a double tap or even a follow. Did you know there was a world before the madness of “Perfect365” or pre-set Instagram filters? Come on bitches what happened to being all natural?

This perception of loving the lives we lead and having a perfect picture to prove for it has completely destroyed the idiom of “living in the moment”. If It’s not on Instagram, did it even happen? This is ludicrous and I know I sound like I’ve lost my marbles but right now there are people who have gone through this phase or are still struggling to break free from it.

Since I keep referring back to the fact that it is 2016 I’m going to do it again… IT IS 2016 and therefore that means there is an app for everything. Yes. There is an app to tell you who follows you and who has unfortunately decided that your posts are no longer worthy of their time... Sucks doesn’t it?

We all have at some time or another fallen into the trap of inspecting who cares about our posts and who doesn’t. To me an unfollow means one of two things. They either were insulted that they didn’t get that follow back or if It’s someone you know personally well unfortunately they simply don’t think your posts are relevant. That’s okay isn’t it? NOT. Until recently I was always offended or livid to discover who didn’t care to keep up to date on my life. NEWS FLASH! Not everyone is going to get you or like you so why bother spending the time and effort on the virtual world?

DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY.

When trying to explain social media and the angst it brings to our generation to my grandmother, I received a text the following day of a quote saying, “Jesus only had 1 follower and Hitler had 1 million.” Grandma… Did you find that quote on Pinterest? She sure did.

What it all boils down to is this perception that we Millennials beg for the approval of our peers and need those likes to keep growing exponentially. To those out there with this problem know this. As cheesy as it sounds social media is a HOAX. You will never be content with the amount of likes or followers you have. Give up now and realize you have friends who adore you in REAL LIFE and a bomb-ass past that can’t be condensed into a bio. Be content.

-Mama G