Over the past year or so, I've witnessed several social media posts about people vowing to stay off of social media sites for a certain amount of time (ironic, huh?), some going as far as getting phones that won't allow them to access social media at the click of a button. All of these posts are part of an effort to get back to the real life, focus less on the internet and social media, and more on what's going on in front of them. It is important to live life outside of the screen of your phone/computer, but most of these posts blame social media for their problems. Posts like this never sit well with me for a few reasons, but the biggest being it is not social media's fault that you can't live your own life.
That reasoning probably sounds harsh, but there aren't many different ways to format that sentence. I'll be the first to admit, I'm addicted to my phone. I love being able to access information from anywhere in the world within a few seconds. I also love connecting with people on social media; there is so much opportunity for networking and catching up with old friends. While I know I'm addicted to my phone, I know when to put my phone down and stay off for a few minutes to focus on my life. I don't blame social media for not being able to live outside of it, I blame myself when that happens. My phone doesn't force me to pay attention to it constantly, yes it's tempting, but I hold the power to put it down.
When people vow to stay away from the internet, their phones, social media, etc. I usually wonder how much they are going to miss from this temporary break from social media. News is happening constantly, we can no longer rely on the daily newspaper to tell us breaking news. We get all of our news straight off the internet. Paying attention to breaking news isn't something that everyone is into, but when something that affects them happens, they are usually thankful that they had information so quickly. The easiness of staying informed is one of social media's greatest aspects, with the ability to follow any major news network of your choice, and remaining in touch with all of the latest trending topics. It would be unfair to deprive yourself of a constant source of news.
Some logic behind why people say goodbye to social media is because they fear that they are losing relationships because they can't talk face-to-face anymore. I notice the opposite problem: I take information that I see on social media and use that to create a conversation with someone around me. Social media is a great gateway to having face-to-face conversation. The conversations can range anywhere from politics to a cute dog video that you saw the other day. Social media isn't the end of face-to-face conversations, we just have to adapt and see how valuable of a tool it can be in starting conversations.
At the end of the day, it is unfair to blame social media for why you can't focus on yourself and your real life anymore. Unfortunately for those who see social media and the internet as a burden and distraction, it is here to stay. In order to move on with our lives, we need to adapt to the changing technology, and social media is a big part of that. Limit yourself to only viewing social media a few times a day, but don't quit it overall and blame its existence for your addiction. We must learn how to balance real life and life on social media and understand how beneficial it can be.
