This generation, my generation, is known for our obsession with social media. We post pictures, share photos, monitor the amount of likes and favorites we get, follow or unfollow each other, check to see who has seen our story, and many other things that make up social media.
Adults see us posting on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat and don’t understand our obsession with it. Can you even blame them? What’s so entertaining about reading people's tweets talking about how much they would kill for a Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit from Whataburger or watching a Snapchat story of someone with an animated rainbow pouring out of their mouth? With such a large increase in the use of social media in such a small amount of time, it is perfectly understandable why adults would be confused about our obsession with it.
However, many adults are starting to say that social media is becoming a major problem within our generation and I don’t think this is a fair statement to make. Have there been problems that could have been avoided if social media didn’t exist? Of course. But that doesn’t mean that social media as a whole is bad.
Social media has created a new world that allows people from all over to connect with each other through common interest, views, and beliefs. I, for one, love social media, and I love it even more now that I’m in college. Being so far away from all my friends in Texas, it’s hard to keep up with everyone all the time. However, with the help of social media, I am able to know what’s going on with all my friends from high school now that we’re all apart. Yes, it may seem pointless to post a photo or video of you just goofing around with friends and roommates, but it’s a way for us to share our lives with each other. Being able to go on Snapchat and see my friends at their colleges and seeing what their lives are like even though we’re apart is something I’m very grateful for.
Not only is social media a way for us to share what’s going in our lives, but it has also become an important platform for people to share their views on important issues such a politics, racism, and feminism. We are in the middle of one of the most controversial presidential elections ever. People have very strong opinions about this election and these opinions are being shared through social media, especially Twitter. A majority of my knowledge about the presidential candidates has come from tweets trying to inform people of what’s going on in this election and the candidates involved. I think that social media is a wonderful way to discuss the election because it is allowing teenagers and young adults to get involved, which usually isn’t very common.
So yes, we spend too much time on social media. Yes, we probably should put our phones down and enjoy the moment more, but if we’re just trying to share what’s going on in our lives, then how bad could it really be?
