At this point, I am losing track of all the different social media apps. There is a new app with a different function for literally every possible social networking desire, but the truth about all of them is that they’re useless. Now, I realize the irony in saying that because you found this article on social media and I shared it on social media. However, the reality is that social media is ruining our generation.
I can admit that I used to be an avid social media user. I would spend hours scrolling through friends' news feeds and keeping up with the most recent funny cat videos. However, through some life changes, I realized that I was wasting a huge amount of my time on social media and it was time that I was literally getting nothing out of. Beyond just wasting time, I was missing out on valuable opportunities to meet new people, to have interesting conversations, and to appreciate the beauty of our world. However, before I continue I want to be very clear: I am not trying to offend anyone nor am I trying to make it sound like I am better than anyone because I’m not. I’m just a normal college guy who is very concerned about where our world is heading.
Anyway, back to the point. Social media has become a huge problem for my generation. At this point, it might as well be called anti-social media. If you don’t believe me, just look around. How many people are on their phone? Is it 50 percent of them? Is it 70 percent? Is it 95 percent? I can honestly say that I have not gone a single day without seeing someone with their head down and zoned into their phone, oblivious of their surroundings.
If you're still not convinced, Flashgap found that “87 percent of millennials admitted to missing out on a conversation because they were distracted by their phone. Meanwhile, 54 percent said they experience a fear of missing out if not checking social networks.”
Now, some people don’t find this concerning. They just chalk it up to a generational change, but I see it as more than that. I think that it’s a real problem and it's one that needs to be addressed before it is completely out of control. GlobalWebIndex discovered that, on average, people are spending 1.72 hours per day on social media and CNN found that some 13-year-olds are checking their social media over 100 times per day. Statistics don’t lie, we are in trouble.
So, I challenge you to go just one day without looking at social media. If you can spend just one day focused on others and engaging in meaningful conversation, then I promise you that you won’t regret it. Sure, a lot of my peers are going to disagree with me and feel like I am attacking them, but I can’t just sit here and watch social media destroy our connections with one another. I hope that you accept my challenge and, to everyone who I know, please hold me accountable too. I’m just as likely, if not more, to succumb to the dangers of social media. I leave you with one last note, a quote that I stumbled upon when writing this article.
“You can’t upload love,
You can’t download time,
You can’t Google
all of life’s answers.
You must actually
live some of your life.”
