In our day and age of technology and connectivity, pretty much everyone has a cell phone. If you're a teenager in America without a cell phone, you're almost certainly Amish, or just plain weird.
I was one of those "weird" kids until a month or so before my 16th birthday, when my mother relented and finally allowed me to get an android ( I still use said android). With great caution and trepidation, she finally let loose the bonds restraining me from social media, internet access, and more communication with friends.
However, as I reflect back on the time prior to getting my cell phone and also reevaluating my life now, my mom had very real and tangible reasons for not letting me get a cell phone until I was older. Primarily, social media is addictive, as well as depressing. While it might not be this way for everyone, social media, the very entity that is supposed to connect you with others and enable you to grow your connections, has widely served only to make me doubt whether my friends actually like me, as well as make me afraid that I'm always missing out on what others are doing (FOMO).
To be fair, we are in charge of our own actions, and I suppose the blame would fall on myself for becoming sucked into countless hours of scrolling through Instagram stories, Snapchat profiles, and Facebook updates, but there's something so conversely addictive about trying to portray a perfect life through the digital scene.
I promised myself I wouldn't end up that way. I promised myself I wouldn't become addicted to social media, to always wanting validation from others, and to working so hard to appear to be happy. Turns out, my mother was wise. So very wise. By offsetting my exposure to the internet and all it has to offer, she was protecting me from being unhappy and from trying to be someone I wasn't. Turns out, 16 wasn't long enough. If I could throw my phone in the garbage, I would. I undoubtedly would be infinitely happier, more connected with those closest to me, and more in touch with my goals.
Unfortunately, the world doesn't work that way. So much of my life is tied into having a cell phone: College organizations and groups, teaching violin and piano lessons over Facetime, and keeping updated with connections that I treasure. If the metaphorical tide of the world was not turning so rapidly towards complete dependence on the internet and social media to function, I would throw all of my devices away in an instant.
I know no one wants to hear this, but delay it. Delay the time that you need to get a cell phone until absolutely necessary. Personally, for me that would mean until I move out of my parent's home and am in complete control of my own life. A life lived without social media and the internet were the best years of my life. I read in droves, and I learned so much more than the internet could ever teach me. Now, I can barely concentrate on an in-depth novel. Before social media, I went outside, played in the sunshine, and wasn't worried about having to check my phone. Before my phone, before social media, and before it all, I was happier. I was freer. I was me.
