Just What Has Our Society Come To?

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Remember that time when you briefly misplaced your phone? Remember how you felt?

Almost as if a piece of you was missing. Even though it was most likely hidden under the pile of mess scattered all over your bed or in your back pocket, that brief moment of disconnection gives us that same “heart-skips-a-beat” feeling similar to when you accidently skip a step on the stairs or lean too far back in your chair.

We are living in a world where social media has become so significant that it defines us as a person. Our beauty is judged off of how many “likes” our photos get or what kind of filter we used. We can’t hang out with someone unless we’ve properly stalked them all the way back to 2010. It’s as if we constantly need to be proving ourselves through “artsy” pictures or “witty” tweets in order to make it seem as if we’re funnier than we actually are or have more friends than we actually do.

It’s ironic how we morph ourselves into the most ideal version of ourselves behind the screen, but when we feel the desire to “connect”, we scroll through our feeds mindlessly not really caring at all that those two people we graduated with are back together again or that the vaguely attractive stranger whose name escapes you commented on your best friends photo, but it has the ability to cause more pain than ever. Like when you see that your ex is dating someone new or when an old picture of your friends from that party you weren’t invited to pops up or when that one friend comments on a status from when you were thirteen so everyone can see it. It’s like we can’t escape the past which can really hurt and do a lot of damage to our opinions of ourselves.

Social media places too much emphasis on impressing everyone else through a screen rather than improving yourself as an actual person. We feed off of each other. You don’t need a filter to be beautiful. The person who you might actually impress may be the one sitting right next to you also staring at their phone. Your real friends will call you when it’s your birthday and the people who matter will be right there laughing and crying with you when life happens instead of sending you a “lol” or an “I’m sorry” text. Sharing that photo of the abused animal won’t save them and pretending you have an opinion on the most current debate doesn’t make you seem any smarter.

I’m guilty too. Now it’s more like we feel as if we have to put ourselves out there online. Like the “Everyone is doing it so if I stop then I’ll be missing out” kind of thing. You probably won’t be missing much. I’m not saying that social media should be banished forever because social media is actually a really great thing in a lot of ways. It connects you to people with similar interests, it allows you to share music or a funny article with a friend, businesses can promote themselves, and important news updates can spread like wildfire. I’m just saying that it shouldn’t be obsessed over or something that takes over who you are.

Be yourself and go out and make something of yourself. Smile at the person passing you instead of looking down and walk with confidence. We think of the internet as our primary means of connection, but we also have these really cool things called cars and airplanes and trains and feet so go take a trip and see someone you haven’t seen in a while. Hear their voice, listen to them laugh, and hold their hand. Write a thank you card to the people who mean something to you. All text looks exactly the same, but no two people write the same.

Humans are incredible. We can support our weight on only two legs. We have the most powerful brain. We have a beating heart that works non-stop keeping us alive. We have the ability to touch and to love. You are destined to do unbelievable things so go be that amazing human; not the robot you’re trying to be.