Next time you go out to eat, take a look around the restaurant. Notice the number of families there are, how many couples that are out on a date. Now out of all the families and couples, how many of those tables have individuals that are wrapped up in their phones?

Scenario number two, when you go to a concert, look and see how many people have their phones over their heads recording every minute. How many times do you wake up to Snapchats of an ENTIRE concert that your friend went to the night before?

People are so eager to see what their friends are up to and are so eager to share every minute of their lives that they are missing out on what is happening right in front of them. Those concertgoers might argue that they wanted to save the memories to cherish forever, but really they created a distraction from those "cherished memories."

I used to be someone that posted all day every day. I probably averaged three tweets a day, an Instagram every other day, and COUNTLESS Snap stories. I was drinking the Kool-aid. I thought to keep status and be happy, I had to share and spend my entire life on social media. As I have gotten older, I realize that is not the case.

There was a time in my life that I would definitely consider myself addicted to social media. I was spending way more time on my phone than doing homework or just talking with my family and friends. I would spend hours on hours immersed in one social media app after another, eventually mindlessly switching because I had run out of new content to see.

Probably the second semester of my freshman year of college did I begin to realize how toxic social media can be. I realized that I was going out and participating in activities JUST to have something to post about rather than just going for the experience. Everything was about getting the "perfect picture" to post or curating a tweet to get the most likes. I was no longer having experiences for me.

So that was probably the time I began to cut back from social media, and it really just changed my entire outlook on life. I know how bold that statement sounds, but I am not even joking. My days began to be more positive and I was actually taking in details of my experiences rather than just highlighting the exciting parts of social media. I was beginning to appreciate everything that I was being offered by being present in my daily life.

Come junior year of college, I took a technical writing class. A portion of the class was structured around the dangers and toxicity of not only social media but technology as a whole. While I did not know that when I enrolled in the course, it came to be my favorite class that I have ever taken in college.

We studied the effects of social media on the youth and how it is affecting communication patterns among people. Because of social media and all the "interaction" that we have access to online, people are not learning how to have face to face communication. I honestly think this is something that I struggled with through high school.

After taking that class, I have a better idea of how the world sees social media and how I personally view it. I am a senior in college pursuing a public relations degree, so trust me I know the power of social media and all of the good it has to offer. I also know that I like to keep my exposure limited because I enjoy life more that way.

Call your friends to see what they're up to instead of stalking their social media. Experience the concert for what it is rather than filming the whole thing, more than likely you won't go back and watch those. And lastly, go talk to that cute stranger instead of following them once you get home. You'll never regret living your life fully.