Social media ruins everything: friendships, relationships, jobs, school etc. Think again. The stigma that has arose that social media ruins everything is honestly hilarious. People again lack the ability to take ownership for their actions, choices, friend groups and more.

Social media is not the reason your friendships are broken, the reason your friendship was ruined because you talked about your supposed "friend" behind their back or posting something in a fit of anger. Your relationship is ruined because of your preconceived ideas of what a relationship should be instead of realizing what a real relationship consists of. Your future dream job isn't taken away because someone posted a video of you passed out at a bar, it's because you couldn't control yourself and put yourself in a situation that could affect your future. Your scholarships for school aren't taken away because you were caught doing something you know you shouldn't have through social media, but because you decided to do what you knew was wrong.

That's the beautiful thing about life, we have the right to choose what we want to do. We can choose to go out or stay in, who we're friends with, who we date, how much effort we put into our jobs or school, what we eat, what we do with our days off and so much more.

Not just social media, but the internet is a wonderful resource for connecting with pretty much anyone you desire, but it's abused on the daily. The easy access to a vast variety of knowledge is amazing, yet destructive. We're told what to think and how things "should be" based on what society has set as the standard, and because of these unrealistic expectations of people and expectations of how life is supposed to be ruins us.

Sure, social media shows us things, but you have control of what you choose to look at, and what comes up on your feed. We have the power to believe and follow whatever we want. We can choose to follow the standards society has created or follow your own path. We can choose to believe we know someone based on their social media posts.

Too often, social media is taken as real life, and what's on the surface is seen as the new deep. People are not who they post to be, and that's why we're in ruins. We fail to realize that people can pretend to be whoever they want to be when they're on the internet. We fail to realize that social media is a dangerous place based on how you use it, and the choices you make. You have the choice to let social media ruin you because you choose to post the things you do. You tweet, you Instagram, you post status's, you post stories, all of it is you. Rarely is anyone forcing you to do something you don't already want to do.

So, think before you post and realize that your actions do have consequences. Sometimes those consequences not only affect you, but also those around you. Realize that social media isn't always the cause of your strife, but that it may be your own doing. Stop finding someone or something else to blame, and take ownership for what you've done. How about we try that on for size in 2017?

Instead of talking about everything we want to do, actually do something about it. Change for the better, rework the way you think, and grow up and realize what you may be doing to yourself. Don't let social media be the cause of your ruins.