Let me start this by saying that I use social media—all of it. I tweet more than I probably should, I post at least one Instagram picture a week, and if I haven’t made a funny post about a dog surfing, then there is something wrong. Not to mention I follow all the celebrities on Snapchat and my story is 100% too long all the time. So, while I use it, and don’t know how I would have occupied my time at the doctor without it, I hate it.
I think that social media makes things hard. Sure, we now have like 47 ways to DM someone, but is that a good thing? I find it annoying. I think that it is ridiculous that I can get 26 snaps a day and have complete conversations on Facebook messenger, but if I call those same people or text them, I don’t get an answer. I have too many examples about this—I am speaking from personal experience. I will lay out a few for you and see what you think about social media after this.
Example one: My ex and I broke up. We are not in contact. In fact, he has another girlfriend. But, he always watches my Snapchat stories and likes my profile pictures on Facebook. Why I have not clocked him yet is beyond me.
Example two: I was talking to this guy and we texted a lot. Then we friended each other on Snapchat and I can count on one hand how many times we texted after that. There were plenty of chats and forehead pictures, but every two seconds I was asking him what he was responding to because, as we all know, chats on Snapchat do not save. It was to the point where I would text and snap him at the same time and I still have not received a text back. This story gets even better when I hang out with him on a Friday night. On Saturday or Sunday I Snapchat him because I want a response. He sends me a picture of his dog. I ask him when we are hanging out again and MY MESSAGE NEVER WENT THROUGH. There was, and still is, a grey arrow next to the message that I sent to him. He unfriended me? And I didn’t even bother texting him. So, Snapchat (or this guy) ruined another “relationship”.
Example three: I have been Facebook messaging a guy that is going on this spring break trip with me and 26 other people. I wished him a happy birthday and asked him when I needed to pay for my portion of the house. I then asked him for his number because, as I think I have made clear by now, I don’t like messaging people unless it is through iMessage. We texted for a day or two. On the second day, there was a 5 or 6-hour gap in our texts so I sent him something funny and I did not get a response so I let it go. He is going to have to see me at the beach anyways so it doesn’t really matter. But what really made me mad was that he 1) has been on Facebook so I know he has his phone and his thumbs didn’t fall off, 2) he likes all my Instagram pictures so, again, he has his thumbs, and 3) he added me as a friend on Snapchat. WHAT IS WITH THIS GEREATION? I really do not understand.
Millennials can’t go through a 50-minute class in college without checking their phone so I know that they are using them, and I am using my phone too, which is why this might be so annoying. I know that your hands are intact, I know that you are using every other app on the planet, but what I don’t know is why people won’t text back.
