To start off, I LOVE social media. I update my Instagram story every time I venture out of my apartment, I religiously maintain my Snapchat streaks and I’m probably more active on Facebook than your mom. In most people’s eyes, even people my age, that’s a bad thing. Many say, “Why can’t you just put your phone down and enjoy the moment,” “You don’t have to take pictures of every little thing. Just enjoy it,” “Back when I was your age—" Stop.

Yes, I do like to have my phone out at events. However, while you may be busy ~enjoying the moment~ and furrowing your brows at my picture-taking, I’m multitasking. I’m taking in the experience in the moment, but I’m also recording it or capturing it to relive the moment later on. If I’m having a terrible day, flipping through some vacation photos or some funny videos of my friends will make me smile enough to just push on through the day. Not only am I taking photos for myself, I’m taking photos for other people to see and appreciate the beautiful people and surroundings that I’m around. Not all your friends and family members can always make it to a birthday party or a family dinner; however, seeing all the silly selfies and smiles on Facebook can make them feel a little more included.

To address the “back when I was your age” comments: back when you were my age, if you met a friend on a vacation or in college, you probably either a) wrote hand-written letters (which, even being the social media queen, I wholeheartedly support), or b) lost touch and were left wondering how and what they were doing with their lives. Through Instagram and Facebook, I still keep up with friends who I’ve met only once or twice and haven’t seen in several years, but who had an impact on my life. I can see my friends’ adventures as they study abroad or go home for the summer. Keeping up with distant relatives is much easier now that I have a photo to match their name; I know how my second cousins in Kansas are doing, and I get to see my family all the time, even though I now live four hours away.

Social media is important to many people for many different reasons, but the most overlooked aspect of social media is the support system it provides. For example, I follow an Instagram account that posts positive messages daily, just for nice reminders and positivity throughout my day. There are support group Facebook pages for people who are unable to leave their homes or are too shy to come to an in-person meeting but still need the support that attending a meeting of others going through a similar trial can bring. Cyberbullying is an issue, yes, but for every negative comment, post or page I have seen, there have been ten more anti-cyberbullying sites raising awareness about what I consider the most prevalent form of bullying today. On social media, you can find a group of other users who can relate to you, whether it’s a political views group, a mental or physical illness support page or just a forum where college students can go to rant about their frustrations with that professor.

Social media has given me an outlet to express my views and myself in ways I wouldn’t be able to without it; I write articles for an online forum that thrives specifically off Facebook and other social media, I met my roommate and best friend on my college Facebook page and I can scroll through my Instagram feed and look at how much I’ve grown as a person over the years. Yes, there are some drawbacks to social media, and maybe some people are too involved in it, but overall, social media does more good than bad. It’s time that we, as a society, embrace that the world is moving forward and accept that social media is sticking with us.