Unpopular opinion: I think social media is actually, for a few reasons, pretty detrimental. I could write a lot on the subject, but I'll try to keep this short, and cover my two main criticisms in regard to it. Before I'm hounded with claims of how it makes us all connected, and all this information is readily available, and it's a great platform etc etc....I know all of that - I'm not saying it doesn't have its pros, however, let's consider some cons. For one thing, if you think about it, social media severely mitigates the attention span of the user. Really - it's comprised of 140 character tweets, summarized articles on Facebook, a link in a bio on Instagram with a one-sentence attention grabber. We're in the age of instant gratification, of absorbing as much media as we can in as concise a manner as possible. Social media platforms provide information fast and in bite sized pieces, requiring little concentration or prolonged reflection from the consumer. I'm not saying your phone is turning you into a zombie, but...it's definitely something I'm side-eyeing. (Like...I close pinterest if four photos in a row don't load quickly enough, why am I like this??) Furthermore, despite the effect social media use has on the attention span of users, what about the personal effects? For instance, let's consider Instagram. Yes, it is a beautiful thing, on which you can share photos featuring yourself and your life with the people you know (and sometimes, people you don't know). But it is also a place where you scroll through the highlight reel of everyone else's lives, meanwhile, you see the whole background reel of your own, and can sometimes easily find your own lackluster in comparison. Maybe you don't do this! I hope you don't, but in general - everyone likes to curate this great version of themselves online, which is good for them and everything, I suppose, but it can be detrimental when envy, comparison, and dissatisfaction are thrown into the mix. I know I, for one, need to take periodic breaks from it, because I'll find myself falling into a pattern of putting myself or the things I'm doing down after seeing all the great stuff my friends/people I follow are up to. So my advice here is to not let yourself fall into that line of thinking - just be mindful of your state of mind, you know? I realize I've been doing a character assassination here of one of the most central parts of popular culture, and I don't want it to sound like I'm anti-social media (because of course I'm 100% partial to all of this as well), but I did want to call attention to the fact that an excess of anything can have a negative impact. Don't forget to be engaged fully when you're not on your phone - read a book, have a deep conversation, live in the moment!! And just be mindful when you're on social media apps that everyone is putting their best foot forward there - it's all curated to be idyllic and impressive. You're doing great at this life thing, so don't put yourself down in comparison to what you see online! So yeah. Minding these two small things can really improve your conduct when using social media, and your mindset when you're not on it.
Keep it kind, guys.
Alli
