"Times were so much simpler back then," people always say as they watch a movie with a character calling their date from a pay phone on the street, or highlights of professional sports leagues in their more exciting days. Times were simpler back then no doubt, technology has simultaneously made life easy and complicated. It has also made people dull.

I recently read this story from Bold Italic about the attention we give to our devices. It may be a little exaggerated for most of us, but it perfectly captures our daily lives centered around technology and the effect it has on us; it's worth the read for sure.

I want to talk about social media, probably the most controversial technology in our lives. Social media is funny, it's a good source of news, and a great way to connect with people. It's also the source of many issues in our lives and modern society. Twitter has become people's own public diaries, while there's no point to keep a tangible photo album with the existence of Instagram.

I always wonder whether I'll still have my Instagram when I'm older, married with kids. Like everyone else, I'm a victim of feeling the release of dopamine in my brain from the reassuring feeling of someone "liking" my picture who is scrolling through the timeline with a straight face, killing time by subconsciously double-tapping pictures by habit and not actually caring. Will I still feel the need for this unhealthy assurance and self-esteem boost when I'm settled down? I hope not.

There are a scary amount of people who are so alive online with a huge presence on social media, but try to talk to them in person and they can't hold a conversation. These are the same people that feel the need to document everything they are doing, speak their opinions, and let everyone know their accomplishments and for what? For "likes" that mean absolutely nothing?

Why do we need to tell people what we are eating or how hard we are working? How many of us actually care? I know I don't.

I'm fine with telling my family and close friends what's going on in my life and that's it. I don't feel like the whole world needs to know, or even that it cares.

When did we give social media so much power? Social media is not real and we all claim to know this fact, yet we are becoming so immersed in it that we are losing actual reality and finding it virtually in social media. People live just to find things to tweet about or post on Snapchat, trying to be funny, to appeal to the people in their community, or go viral.

There are a million better, more important things these people could be doing instead of utilizing social media for their own prideful gain. In a world where we are increasingly becoming more into ourselves, social media is spurring it on; it may even be the source of our heightening selfishness.

Nevertheless, there certainly are people that use social media and are not devoured by it. There are those that use it for good as well. That's a good category to be in. For most of us, however, we need to do some soul-searching.

I'm not saying social media is evil, it has benefits, it brings joy and unites us; I just don't see the point in certain ways people use it. To boast, trying too hard to show people that they are funny, and trying to fit into this unusual virtual world we're all connected in. There's no fulfilment in that. We don't need fake assurance from others, especially online.

Social media complicates things. I'd rather keep it simple, be yourself, do your own thing and keep in mind that most people, with the exception of your close friends, don't really care. A congratulations is more authentic in person, a face-to-face conversation is real, and a hug feels better than a "like."