The past year, and especially the past few months, fake news, mixed opinions, and ignorance has really taken a toll on how enjoyable social media is, but even more it's affected our ability to grow. Part of growing up means being conditioned to be skeptical of popular opinion, and not letting what you stand for be thwarted or bashed by others who have different opinions. Another part of growing up is learning to take on another point of view and accepting that not everyone's views will match our own, but that we have to let them think that way because we cannot so easily persuade something they might have believed their whole life.

However, over the course of the past few months it has become more and more apparent, especially on social media, that people are becoming increasingly opinionated with every little thing. The events in 2016 on top of the rising increase of social media users has really made too many people seem like narcissists. It doesn't help that there are those who need legitimate evidence because they find it hard to trust everyone on the internet, and those who fall for false facts. The addition of fake news over the past few years hasn't helped this nonsense ever since it sneakily came into everyone's lives, not only creating even more reason for people's ideas to clash, but sometimes making people gullible.

Within each argument are tons of excuses. Most people over the past year have complained of Trump supporters and their excuses, or excuses for either believing or using a false news source that is more of an opinion than a fact, and of course excuses for the newly-introduced term that shouldn't even be a thing in the first place--'alternative facts.' Regardless of what an argument is about though, our generation is outlined with excuses, and we're all getting better and better at making them. Excuses are being thrown at random people, whether it's believing in something that goes against popular opinion or facts, or acting a certain way, making poor choices, and our whole country is making excuses about what's happening right now.

But while everyone is trying to change other's views, whether for better or for worse, we're all actually wasting a tremendous amount of time. What we should be doing is figuring out what to think of all the news, let alone which news is actually trustworthy to form our individual opinions on it. Our society has a lot of problems to solve, but what's also at stake is our intellect and our ever-changing minds. We're all in the same exact position, with hundreds of emotions, opinions, and desires racing through our mind, not wanting anything to neglect or demolish our ideals, yet we don't sympathize for everyone else who feels the same way. We feel as though we're advancing but we're actually suppressing ourselves and others in the long-run. Social media right now is the root to all evil, which is sad because it used to be the root of connecting, but when we're all disconnecting from each other you have to question it's value, and our current attitudes and perspectives in life.