My Thoughts on Social Media

Social media has become such a huge part of todays everyday functioning world. It almost seems as if without it our world would turn cold and dark, but lets face it, thats not the case. I'll first say that obviously I use social media often (I run a blog... come on) and have for years now, but that doesn't mean it's always been impacting me or doing any good in my life. In fact this blog is probably the first way social media has positively affected me. But the truth of the matter is, I still am sitting inside in front of my laptop behind closed doors secluded from the outside world. But I justify it because this article will soon be read by all of you, the outside world. Let me clarify, I've never been directly effected in a negative way due to social media, but I have been absent in real life conversations due to virtual ones, I've missed out on quality time with people I care about due to strangers I care more to read about, I've been in potentially dangerous situations due to a news feed scroll in one hand and the other on a steering wheel and for a while I lost what it meant to write anything with actual content or meaning due to "lol"'s and "omg"'s. Growing up my mom would always nag on me about my phone being attached at my hip, but now I'm realizing that she never was nagging. She was right. I was so consumed by what new Vine was posted on the comedy tab, what new picture was posted on Instagram or my new Twitter followers that I was completely oblivious to the real world I was physically in. I participated more in the virtual world I had created than the physical world I was born into.

Lets just briefly talk about the shocking amount of young children that know how to efficiently operate iPhones and tablets. My three year old niece -THREE YEARS OLD- knows how to take a picture or a "selfie", dial a number and how to play virtual games. Most kids have iPhones by intermediate school and most middle schoolers have MacBooks and multiple electronic devices. Young kids having Twitters, Instagram accounts and Snapchats is absolutely absurd. If I got a dollar for every 12 year old boy that has tried messaging, following and friend requesting me I would be rich. Think about it; what if I was a serial killer or a crazed woman who has a thing for young boys? They would never guess or know because kids don't understand the real horror behind some of these social media accounts. THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE THEM.

Social media has a lot of power over us. How many of you wake up and the first thing you do is check your Twitter or Facebook? It has become our everyday ritual, something we rely on. What happened to reading the daily paper for news or reading a book for entertainment? The general public wants to talk about how obese people are in todays age, well I'd be obese too if all I did was sit on the couch staring into my phone screen all day eating bon-bons. Now I know I seem completely biased, I am a journalism major who has a love for media and broadcast, BUT here's the catch-

I believe social media is vital and important, but only the vital and important kind. Not what you had for breakfast being posted on Facebook or spending hours upon hours scrolling through Twitter reading all the useless junk your "friends" have to say. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat all have potential to be informative and useful. Twitter for example, has a "discover" tab that has political and trending news that users have access too. But my question is how many people actually click that tab? Every social media browser has some kind of purpose that can be used for information and knowledge. It's our own faults that we use it for gibber jabber and "selfies".

Recently, I challenged myself by deleting my Twitter, Facebook and Instagram apps. I must say it has changed my life drastically. I wake up and the first thing I do is drink coffee instead of check my notifications, I walk to class and actually see my surroundings instead of seeing the latest photo post, and when I have down time I read a book instead of ignorance on a bright screen. I challenge everyone reading this post to do the same. See just how fast you change your routine and the self focus you gain from spending time with yourself, in your own head.

Ready, Set, Go Darlings!
Xoxo