Scrolling, stop, like, scrolling, stop, like. The next thing you know, so much time has passed.

Every time I step foot onto campus, or anywhere really, I am surrounded by people who are barely living.

Millennials.

Us.

Each generation below us is getting increasingly worse as the one before. The older generation has also been taught how to incorporate Apple products and social media platforms into their daily use.

We have all been touched by the insanity in some way or form.

I'm not necessarily saying that having access to the Internet is a horrible thing. It's not. We have so much accessible information that we are most likely unable to store all of it.

Because we are so in touch with everything going on around us, we tend to feel more connected with one another.

We don't feel the need to have in-depth conversations with our friends and family anymore. Lunch dates have turned into showing each other funny memes and posting on our Snapchat stories to show others that we're out having a great time.

Sleepovers turned into judging others based off of their Instagram posts. Relationships are started with a swipe to the right or a DM.

Most students don't even care to pay attention in classes that THEY pay for. Attention spans are very short.

Our social lives are just not authentic anymore.

People have always had different personalities based off of the ones they surrounded themselves with. Now, everyone has a different identity for each of their social media accounts.

For example, on Instagram, you have to show your friends that you're living the best life. On Facebook, you have to show your uncle and aunt that you're doing great in school and work. On Twitter and Snapchat, you're free to create and express yourself in any way you possibly can.

So we never really know if the people we hang out with are who they say they are.

Last semester, I found that my Introduction to New Media class and Introduction to the Writing Arts course started to correlate. In both, we were learning about the impacts technology, writing, and communication. I also was required to read a couple chapters from Sherry Turkle's book "Alone Together".

In the chapter "Always On," Turkle talks about the notion that even though we are connected globally and electronically, we are all pretty isolated from one another in reality. We are drowning in new media instead of using it here and there.

What I'm trying to get at here is that even though I'm getting frustrated with the way things are turning into, I catch myself conforming to society, too. Our attire isn't complete without a phone in hand, headphones in our ears or an Apple watch on our wrist.

It's honestly really sad to see four-year-olds sitting with their families at restaurants with their very own iPhones. Sometimes I can't even spend quality time with my sister, who is four years younger than me because she gets distracted by keeping up with her Snapchat streaks or who's texting her at the moment.

It's the same way with friends, too! If I am spending time with them, I find it so rude when they go on their phone.

I find it ironic that the older generation is pointing their fingers at millennials for this dependency on smartphones, but they are the ones giving their children the electronics in the first place for various reasons all leading to their reliance

All this really does is create distance between the said individual and the world they live in. Yes, we might be updated with what's going on in the world, but are we really enjoying our lives? Are we making memories?

No.

Instead, we choose to portray a life that we are supposed to be living while, at the same time, we are also looking at other people having a good time. It makes us feel shitty when we're not out there doing what they're doing, too.

The idea that scrolling on our phones took up time... that could've been a fulfilling memory. We're just simply addicted and I'm over it.

Using our phones has become a sense of escape for whenever someone feels the need to leave an awkward conversation or they just don't feel like talking anymore. When we do talk, it's in fragments.

I'm honestly worried for the generations yet to come. I am scared the future holds a bunch of mute and lazy kids. Therefore, I do hope that there will be a time where most of us realize it's time to live our best lives and create beautiful memories.

It's time to explore the world, make a change, meet new people, stop worrying about what others think of us and expand our minds. We should want to learn new things and skills. We all have endless room for personal growth.

With that said, leave your phone upstairs every now and then. Look up and give someone a smile. Make their day! You're guaranteed to feel a genuine change.

Time is in our hands.