To quote Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the season of light, it was the season of darkness. It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of sadness..."

It was the year 2005.

A bit over dramatic, although it's fitting considering that we're talking about the mid 2000s: the dawn of social media we've come to love (and loathe).

The idea behind its creation was simple enough: to easily connect one person to another no matter where they are in the world. But of course, as technology advances, so too does our social networking evolve. Gone are the days of just plain, boring necessities like email and chat boxes as soon came the addition of selfies, hashtags, and followers as part of our vocabulary—and daily lives.

Yet what's made communication so convenient has also disconnected us from the ones sitting next to us. Why bother having face-to-face conversations (Facetime doesn't count), which involves risking an awkward encounter (what if I stutter or say something stupid?), when I can be smooth-talking AF on Snapchat?

And getting to know someone without meeting them in person is now made possible. Just a few click, click, click here and there and voila! I know what music he likes, where he hangs out, who his exes are. Now all I need is to "accidentally" bump into him, and we can call it fate, destiny, or love at first sight.

Now take a moment to reflect and ask yourself these questions:

How much time do you spend scrolling mindlessly when you're bored? Perhaps it's even become a habit now, a quick look first thing in the morning and last thing before bed?

How much of your friends' lives do you really need (or want) to know about? Does it matter that John had pizza for lunch? Do you really have to see Jane's selfie every single day? I bet you regret finding out that your ex has a new beau just days after you broke up. And aren't you sick and tired of your Uncle Joe's racist, borderline Neo-Nazi comments?

And yet a better question would be...

Should any of your friends and followers care about the things you post for all of the world to see?

Do we no longer believe that invisibility is a superpower? Are we now under the notion that being off the grid equates to living under a rock? That failing to use social media means we're missing out? It seems now that we need a certain number of "likes" before we can tell ourselves "yes, I do look beautiful" and "yes, I am having fun." Constantly, we seek the approval, the validation of others that we are not just living a boring eight to five job and spending the night feeling sappy and alone.

The appeal of social media is understandable. It's playing dress-up with your reality. You get to pick and choose how other people—your "friends" or "followers"—view you. You get to create your life just the way you want others to perceive it: cool, fun, exciting. Lately there's been quite a number of popular social media stars that have admitted it, and although I'm sure we all know it, sometimes we mistakenly forget that the life we see on social media is through a filtered lens. We don't see the whole story. We only see the highlights. And that's the way it should be.

P.S. You might as well like or share this article to boost my ego.