Since leaving home and starting college, I have learned more about the people I went to high school with than I knew when we saw each other in high school every day. Starting a new chapter of your life comes with a certain expectation that you will leave a footprint on the last chapter; but, with the enormous presence of social media in today's world, this expectation has increased immensely.
On any given day, a massive influx of pictures and updates flood the feed of most college students. Why? The accessibility and constant presence of the internet easily provides a gateway for over-sharing. What starts out quite simply as a way to update old friends and family about new experiences and adventures quickly becomes a public diary of sorts, when any and every aspect of one's day is documented.
This mass of information is not only overwhelming, but also in many cases is not based entirely in truth. Often times, pictures and statuses only reflect the prettiest and best aspects of a person's life, leading their online image to be one-sided. What may be labeled as a candid picture was probably taken from about twelve different angles before being posted. The result is an image of one's life including only what they want it to include, which makes for an inaccurate representation to those looking from the outside in.
Seeing constant pictures of smiling faces and exotic travel destinations can be detrimental to someone who feels painfully ordinary. I myself have fallen victim to the trap of social media-- I feel that I need to post frequently just to compete with my peers who appear to be having so much fun. In reality, their lives for the most part probably are not too different than mine, but this jealousy is merely due to an inaccurate social image.
A life that revolves around pressure to uphold a seemingly exciting lifestyle can cause one to miss out on things that are actually legitimately exciting. Far too frequently in today's world do teens focus more on what they are going to post to social media from their day than on the day itself. By learning how to disconnect from this ever-present technology, we can learn to become more appreciative of the opportunities and experiences all around us, rather than being faced with the societal pressure to make our lives seem better than everyone else's.
