Why are you always on your phone? You teenagers spend too much time looking at those damn screens! You’re so spoiled by your technology.

We’ve all heard these classic phrases come out of the mouths of our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles -- pretty much anyone with a kid at a family reunion. The concept of toxic technology has been shoved down our throats since we got our first flip phones back in good ole middle school. Watching too much TV will turn your brain to mush. Looking at a little phone screen for too long will ruin your eyesight. YouTube is a waste of time. We’ve heard it all before.

I’m here to tell you that they’re wrong. Technology and social media will not be the downfall of our generation. Sure, all these new apps have detrimental factors to them, but let’s not focus on those because what’s a life lived in negativity? Instead, why don’t we focus on the amazing things that social media can do?

Social media connects us all. In the blink of an eye, you can tell a friend in a different time zone that you’re thinking of them. You can send an email halfway around the world and have it returned to you within the hour. With a flick of your thumb you can travel to a different continent, read someone’s mind or become more informed about your world.

And what’s amazing about today isn’t just the technological advances we’ve made, it’s what people have done with those advances. People have made you laugh, cry and think. People have raised funds for worthy causes. People have voiced their opinions and had them heard. People tell their stories. People make art and people share beauty. People raise awareness and people inform us. People do amazing things with social media.

People have even made their livingfrom it.

Tyler Oakley has created an empire of confidence, self-love and acceptance with over 8 million subscribers on YouTube. He has made hundreds of videos on his channel, he wrote a book, he’s gone on tour and now he’s made a movie. His influence has spread through the internet and around the globe, all through one little camera.

Hannah Hart created an online cooking show, My Drunk Kitchen, in which she gets drunk and attempts to cook a dish while simultaneously teaching her audience about an important topic or moral dilemma. She wrote a cookbook and co-produced a movie with her two best friends, Mamrie Hart and Grace Helbig. Additionally, a portion of her 2.5 million subscribers join together on Have A Hart Day, in which they “spread service and reckless optimism” to their communities.

People like Hannah and Tyler inspire their viewers to unapologetically embrace themselves for exactly who they are and give back to the world that they are a part of.

Other YouTubers, such as JacksGap and Fun for Louis, beautifully document their travels around the globe. In doing so, they allow the average viewer to get a glimpse into a completely different culture from their own.

Blogs, such as Humans of New York, tell the stories of people you might pass by on the street and not even give a second glance to. Jack, Louis and Humans of NY teach us to appreciate that the world is a complex and gorgeous place.

Social media is a platform for greatness. We have the opportunity to do fantastic things with it. We must learn from it and grow with it, but also understand that it is not everything. The trick to appreciating all that social media can do for us is to do everything that social media has taught us to do. Make connections with some fellow humans, donate your time and your smile, travel the world and see it for yourself. Look around and realize that you are #blessed.