Don't get me wrong, social media has so many benefits and in so many ways has made a technological revolution. Connecting with people on another level, career opportunities, and even a special way to express oneself are just some of the ways we depend on social media today. However, most of the things about how millennials use social media make me hate it more than ever. Here are just a few that any college aged kid can probably relate to and why I'm starting to despise it.
1. It's just time-consuming.
Making sure your profile defines you correctly, and spending time thinking of the perfect bio for your Twitter and Instagram is absolutely the biggest waste of time. We spend hours thinking of something witty and relatable, yet something that defines you as a person—all so that people who don't matter get the right image of you when they look at your profile. Endless hours adding up, and all you did was just look at the Twitter beef between Taylor Swift and the Kardashians or snaps from that party you didn't go to.
2. We sit and do nothing instead of something meaningful.
It's so easy nowadays to just sit and browse back and forth between Twitter and Instagram when you're bored with nothing to do. Then, we get upset and jealous when we see that other people are doing fun things. We can be so caught up in other people's lives that we forget we have our own!
3. We are more concerned about who we are online than who we are in reality.
This goes back again to the fact that we spend so much time on our social pages perfecting the image that we want imprinted in other people's head. It's so easy to just pick a few emojis and a few inspiring quotes than it is to actually get up and do something that defines you as a person. We should be more focused on actually doing things that better us and make us grow as a person, and actually having those experiences, instead of posting pictures pretending that we had an amazing time. Don't get me wrong, social media is a good way and an opportunity to express yourself, however it should not be consuming your life. Who are you even fooling adding three filters and using a makeup app to make your selfie look better, when in reality people are going to see the real you? Why are you complaining via tweets that your day sucks? Focus on bettering yourself in real life, not on a phone!
4. That one annoying person.
Everyone follows one. The person that makes several posts every day, posts four selfies a day, six pictures of their significant other every hour, and makes negative tweets all day long. Need I say more?
5. We depend on tweets and likes as forms of communication.
Social media connects us now more than ever—or does it? If liking someone's tweet or Instagram pic is a form of communication, I want out. Despite being on over four social media platforms together, we still suffer from lack of communication. Questioning things every day like, "Why did he tweet that but not answer my text?" "Why didn't she like the picture I just posted?" It's always a guessing game. When in reality, if we really were more connected, we would actually hold a conversation with one another rather than just liking Instagram pics and retweeting relatable things. This is a huge barrier in relationships, especially if there is a lack of actual communication between a couple. No matter how advanced social media becomes in the future, there is no way we can really understand a person unless we actually talk to them ourselves and hold meaningful conversations.
6. Every adventure/outing requires a photoshoot.
At times it can be fun, but why can't we just go places without asking our friend to take cute candids so that you can post one on Insta later on? The "pics or it didn't happen" phrase makes me cringe. 'Cause, yeah, it did? Sorry, I was too busy actually enjoying myself that I forgot to take a picture.
Whenever something happens, we immediately reach for our phones to catch the moment on Snapchat. What's so appealing about making sure all of your followers see it instead of actually enjoying the moment in person with yourself? We are more focused on the image that others have of us than the reality of the lives we are actually living. We need to stop taking satisfaction in getting attention from others and just be happy with ourselves.
