The rate at which technology is evolving is truly frightening to me. I've been more conscious of my excessive social media usage recently, and I've actively been trying to cut back. Most people I know, of all ages, are addicted to their phone, myself included. I think I do pretty well for myself in the sense that when I'm out with other people, I limit my phone use entirely; however, I hate that the first thing I do before I go to bed at night, and before getting out of bed in the morning, is check my phone. I'm trying to be better about living in the moment, which means I've been leaving my phone behind more when I don't necessarily need it and deleting some applications that simply take up time and space.
I'm a big Instagram fan, because I love taking photos, and I spend most of my free time reading news articles and current events, which I tell myself is a productive way to spend my time. I was supposed to go abroad to Cape Town, South Africa, this semester, but due to some unpreventable health issues was unable to go. Not being able to go to Cape Town was perhaps the most devastating consequence of the unfortunate experience I've had to endure; I have always loved to travel, explore new surroundings and learn about diverse cultures all over the world. I know I'll make it to South Africa one day, and that I'll have other times in my life to travel, but I knew that during the time in which my friends were studying in Cape Town I would feel extremely sad and jealous, prominent "FOMO" (fear of missing out) if you will. To reduce my FOMO, and also to help ease my emotions, I deleted snapchat seven months ago, probably the most used app among millennials around my age. Very few people I know don't use or have a snapchat. Especially now because snapchat permits "texting," via "snapchat chat," (not sure what the exact lingo is) people are spending even more time on it than before.
Not having snapchat is great because you're not constantly worrying about what everyone else is doing and can solely focus on yourself and live in the moment. I am glad I grew up when I did because I can imagine snapchat and social media causing lots of drama in middle and high school. If I had seen snapchats of my friends abroad in Cape Town, and elsewhere, I can imagine feeling extremely sad and envious of the experiences they were having there. Not spending the many minutes I used to spend a day checking snapchats and waiting for responses from people who I could easily just text or call to communicate has, in all seriousness, given me more time to read the news and stay up-to-date on current events in addition to spending more time with friends and family in real time.
What I am not doing, through writing this article, is discrediting snapchat. I did used to love it, especially all of those fun #filters. I'm just saying that deleting snapchat is a great way to utilize time more effectively, as you have less distractions via social media, and will allow you to predominantly live more in the moment. I'm able to enjoy the food I eat at meals without worrying about taking its photo as well as embracing a beautiful site at the local Botanic Gardens, in Chicago or elsewhere without snapping a pic. Everyone has different preferences, so some people might want to delete Instagram instead of snapchat when they get overwhelmed with social media; I'm simply just stating my opinion. I think social media is very interesting and a great way to connect with others, and I am looking forward to seeing all that arises in the future; however, obviously it is sometimes distracting, wastes time and makes you anxious for no reason. I'm going to continue trying to minimize my daily usage of myriad social media just because, personally, I know myself and am much happier focusing on the moment than worrying about taking a picture or video to show off what I'm doing to my friends and buddies. It's ironic that I write for the odyssey, which is a social content platform through which millennials share stories and experiences via social media, as I rant about social media taking over the world. This is one example in which, I think, social media can be used for good. I enjoy sharing my ideas and discussing my opinions with others through posting my articles, and I like hearing other people's opinions on my thoughts and written articles.
I don't know what exactly the technological future has in store, but I am confident that connecting with others will continue to get easier and more accessible, no matter your placement in the world.
