When I was in the fourth or fifth grade, a friend of mine made me a Xanga profile which, for those who do not remember, was one of the first social networking sites. Needless to say, I barely used the profile because the majority of my time on the computer at that age was taken up by keeping my family in "The Sims" game fed. Then in middle school we all got on Myspace. Never before had we really put thought into ranking our closest friends, usually one through eight. The only time my best friend Mitch was replaced at the top spot was when I had a “girlfriend.” Of course, having a “girlfriend” at that age meant we held hands once at a football game, but it ended when I kissed her on the cheek and she said we were moving too fast. Then came Facebook, then Twitter, then Instagram, then Snapchat… And our social world would never be the same.
Recently I went on a social media cleanse. Thanks to Dr. Oz, cleansing is very trendy these days. I deleted all of the social media applications from my phone and only allowed myself to download and check them once a week. When I did check them, the only thing I was allowed to look at was if anyone had directly contacted me. For example, I could look at a direct message or a tagged picture, but I was not allowed to scroll through my timeline. While on this trendy cleanse, I realized just how ridiculous social media can be.
I think we should have a worldwide holiday called Literal Social Media Day. Thanks mostly to sorority girls, the word “literally” gets thrown around willy-nilly and is completely misused. Here is what Literal Social Media Day would be like: You want to post something on a friend’s Facebook wall? You have to write it on a sheet of paper or actually get a picture developed and thumbtack it to their bedroom wall. Instead of tagging people or hashtagging, you attach post-it notes or little tags hanging off the paper with the names of the people or subjects you mention in that letter or picture. For Instagram, let us say you like someone's shirt. You have to go up to them and tap them twice with your thumb. If you really feel compelled you can even make a short comment about the shirt. Instead of Twitter, if you really like what someone just said, you pull out a little paper heart and stick it on their mouth. If you really like it, then you repeat exactly what they just said to everyone else that sees you that day. If you see someone you know, then you follow them. I mean you follow them around everywhere they go so you can see what they are doing for the rest of the day. We cannot use Snapchat, so instead you flash someone for three seconds then run away and never do it again.
One of the problems with social media is that we are able to portray an alternate reality. We can project our lives as being anything we want regardless of how they really are. We could be depressed and anxious and not doing well, but we can post pictures going out with friends, or write about how great life is. Thanks to editing we can make ourselves look completely different than how we actually appear. Not tan enough? There is a filter for that. Teeth not white enough? There is a filter for that. Have some blemishes? There is a filter for that.
On the other hand, social media also can be very revealing of a person’s true character. We all have those friends who post ignorant things on social media. In my experience, it is racists who are the most prevalent. If I had a dime for every time I saw a post that began with “I am not a racist but…” then went on to say something racist, I would have more dimes than the Victoria's Secret Fashion show.
Social media has also created an epidemic of self-consciousness and narcissism. We worry so much about what we look like now because we are constantly taking selfies, or seeing pictures of ourselves on the internet. Never before in history have we been able to hear and see ourselves like we can now. The mirror used to be the evilest tool of self-centeredness. Now it is social media.
Another problem with social media is it cuts out personal communication. It used to be, if you wanted to catch up with someone, you would have to call them on the phone or, Heaven forbid, meet up with them in person. Now, all we have to do is click and scroll and we can update ourselves on anyone's life without ever saying a word to them and they could never even know you care.
In the end, taking a break from social media is something I strongly encourage. If I could take all the time I spent laying in bed scrolling through social media after I wake up but before actually getting up, I could probably have time to become fluent in Spanish. My last article was on how technology ruins relationships and we have to be aware of what we are doing. We do not want to end up like the humans in the Disney movie "WALL-E" who just sit and eat and stare at screens without ever talking to anyone else. Do not make the mistake of substituting someone’s social media profile for who that person is. Make sure you value time in person over time on the internet.
