No matter where you go, nine out of ten times, someone’s head it buried in their phone; their thumbs moving a mile a minute tweeting, texting, and scrolling through endless social media feeds. Whether you’re walking across campus to class or you’re eating lunch in the dining hall, everyone is always looking down and not looking around them.
I am one of those people.
But I’m working on it.
I catch myself from time to time when I’m walking to class or taking the train home. I just have to open the Snapchat someone sent me right away. I just have to text my friend back in five seconds flat. But why?
Social media is a great way to stay connected with family and friends, however, it is ultimately the downfall for many young adults and teenagers in our generation. There are unbelievably unrealistic standards on dating, relationships, friendships, what we should look like, that we should constantly be doing something or hanging out with someone and be posting about it.
This is so incredibly wrong.
Social media has warped what our young minds choose to think. In fact, it doesn’t really seem like we have a choice in what to think anymore. Our self-confidence has been replaced by the number of likes on a picture. We relate to the number of people who care about us to the amount of followers we have. It’s disgusting. And we’re all guilty of it.
Some of the greatest people I have met have less than a hundred followers. Some of them don't have Facebook, or very few types of social media at all (I know, you probably just gasped). And they’re perfectly fine with that, as they should be. Because it doesn’t matter. I challenge you all to do something and not post about it on social media. Go for a walk, read a book, teach your dog a cool trick, have a Game of Thrones marathon. I promise, it’s more refreshing than worrying about how many people “like” what you’re doing. Why do you care? It only matters that you like what you're doing.
When was the last time you actually talked to someone in person, and not over the phone? When was the last time you took in the beauty of the day around you? When was the last time you actually paid attention to what your professor was saying? You don’t have to be on your phone every minute you are not actively doing something. You might actually learn something. You might meet someone you otherwise wouldn’t have, because you were too busy snap-chatting instead of holding the door for the person behind you.
You don’t have to tweet everything you’re doing. You don’t have to snapchat every aspect of your life, because quite frankly, I don’t care that you and your friends went out drinking Thursday-Sunday night. I don’t care that you’re at a concert. You’re taking away from enjoying the moment in time. Hang out with your friends – don’t post about it 24/7. Don’t snapchat the entire Walk The Moon set list – enjoy your time there. I don't need a live concert experience from your snapchat story, that's what the Jonas Brothers movie is for.
If you spend your whole life with your head looking down and your phone in your right hand, how will you be able to keep your head up and take in the magic of everyday life around you? I promise you, life is a whole lot prettier through your own eyes than through the Valencia filter on Instagram.
