Sorry, before I even start this article let me check my Instagram for a second. Oh okay, now that I've reached an acceptable amount of likes on my latest post, I can starting writing. Phew, if I didn't make it past 200 likes on that picture I would've been totally annoyed and probably deleted it.

That right there is society today. LITERALLY.

We are so consumed by social media that we forget how to even be social, and that isn't socially acceptable. We are so tuned in to something completely irrelevant. Yes, it feels nice to get likes on pictures or comments, but at the same time, couldn't we express our opinions towards something in person? Oh no. That's too hard. What has this world come to?

I'm sure there are thousands of articles around the world that are written solely to talk down on social media, but I'm ready to stop reading and voice my opinions. In fact, you're not even reading this article in a paper you're reading it online, once again another form of social media.

In this case, social media raises awareness about an issue or shares an opinion which is one of the few benefits of its use. Other than that, we are so worried about the amount likes we get or how popular our page is.

Instead of going out of our way to see old friends or wish someone a happy birthday face-to-face, we simply look online to see how their life is going and within two seconds we can send them a happy birthday wish through Facebook. Sounds easy doesn't it? You don't even have to leave bed and you've already been updated on all the things your friends are doing and you wished a friend miles away a happy birthday. This is exactly the problem. (And yes, I am writing this article from my bed) which is even more related to why social media is slowing down society rapidly.

So instead of texting or liking each others pictures, how about we meet in person (sounds crazy I know), lets express our views verbally in person, instead of hiding behind a phone. Now of course I sound hypocritical because I'm typing this on my laptop and checking my phone for Instagram likes, which isn't harmful, but if we choose to stay in bed, and wish that happy birthday through Facebook instead of getting out to do it in person, then it is harmful.

We cannot let social media control us. We need to be able to maintain being social, while being able to use social media to further that communication. You are a person for a reason, not a robot, take advantage of that, get off your cell phone and get out. The only one stopping you is yourself (and your phone.)

Okay, rant over.

Thanks for listening. Maybe after you've read this you'll drop your phone (not literally) and go spend some time with loved ones. Or you can just text them. Your choice.