It is pretty much inevitable that I write an article about social media. I post too often, compulsively scroll, and refresh every platform and even spent an entire semester researching the correlation between social media and mental health.
In 2018 it is nearly impossible to avoid having a presence on social media. I mean, even the president of the United States has difficulty staying away from the “tweet” button, even in times of crisis. Social media is so ingrained in our society that living in the moment is a rarity if WiFi can be found. Phrases like “do it for insta,” “phone eats first,” “I need to story that,” “save the streak” and so many more have become mottos for our generation and symbols of how important documenting our every move has become in society. There is no more spontaneity and you can’t even be thrown in a pool without the fear of damaging someone’s phone.
The pursuit of finding the perfect post for social media has removed some of the ability to thoroughly enjoy life. For example, I absolutely love reading a good book or going to see a concert but social media has ruined the experience. Now, reading has become a time to find “VSCO worthy” quotes that will get republished and concerts are the perfect opportunities to post on your Snapchat story.
Speaking of Snapchat… I have a lot to say. It is the only platform that I have threatened to delete because it truly has become an app that makes me miserable at times. I mean, why have sending a blank screen or ugly selfies become the new wave of communication? But, the “snap streak” has become too important in society to prove friendships that my best friends and even my own mother got upset with me when I said that I didn’t want to have Snapchat anymore.
Snapchat is a place where being left on read can ruin your day and a timer emoji causes mayhem. An increasing snap score can show when you are being ignored and not just that the other person is busy. Snapchat makes being a teenager very hard because stories are used to make people jealous and you always know what other people are doing. I used to say that I cared about the streak because it allowed me to keep in contact with people more regularly than I would text with them and it wasn’t weird to ask random questions like what someone is listening to (if they have headphones in).
However, I’ve experienced losing streaks with people that made me miserable because that meant I wasn’t talking to them as frequently anymore. I’ve learned that as easy as it is to lose a streak, it is equally as easy for those people to pop back into your life with a random snapchat. It takes mind games to a whole other level and I’m sure many girls will agree with me.
Snapchat has made even the simplest of things, such as going to a frat party, a big event because everyone “needs” to get the perfect mirror selfie with their friends to prove they’re going out or the perfect video of a million sweaty bodies screaming the lyrics to Mr. Brightside in a dirty basement. Sometimes I wish that I did not care how long the streak was and just lived my life. Unfortunately, snapchat has become so important that I’ve had to explain to my grandparents the significance of it and even my favorite band made a music video using only snapchat filters.
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter… These three apps have come and gone in waves of popularity and each one has its faults, yet they never seem to make me as upset as Snapchat has. Instagram is my favorite despite the fact that it always manages to choose the one name I don’t want to see as the person who liked my picture. Instagram gets a bad rep for needing a perfect “feed” or the wittiest captions.
However, I love being challenged to come up with a pun for my caption and I definitely love photography. This is why I was also excited when Facebook became popular again. Twitter and Facebook are both fun because of the popularity of memes and being able to share them with friends very easily. While there are faults to both platforms (Facebook’s easy access to “stalk” people and Twitter’s “subtweeting”), in moderation both feel less harmful to me than others do.
Do not get me wrong, I am not hating on social media. In fact, I probably use it more than the next girl. But this is the reason that I felt that I needed to write an article on it. I acknowledge that the addiction our society has to social media is real and scary but there are ways to use it that are not upsetting. I’ve met some of my best college friends through social media and I would not know my best friend/roommate if it wasn’t for GroupMe. I’ve been able to share my love for food with so many people through Instagram and have been invited to taste testing events (shout out to @welive4food !!!!!)
Spotify has allowed me to share my love of music with people and learn what other people are listening to which is very important to me as new music is part of what keeps me sane. Even through Instagram, I have been able to learn how much I love to write and create. I think the main lesson here is that we all have to learn to put our phones down for a little while, but that doesn’t mean that social media has to become obsolete. This article may come as a surprise to those that know me and everyone may find it ironic since it’ll be shared on every platform mentioned, but I hope in 2018 I will be able to live more in the moment.
