I was born in 1987, so social media wasn’t really a part of my life until I had graduated and moved out on my own. Even back in the MySpace days social media was nowhere near as big as it is today. Even when Facebook made MySpace completely obsolete, social media still did not have the roll it has today. What started as a way to share your life with family and friends, is now the only way we connect to the world at all. We live in an age of smart phones and tablets, where we have constant access to the world around us, but is that really a good thing?

No one can deny the benefits of social media. It’s the most efficient way to advertise services, and promote businesses. It allows you to network, and meet people you never would have had a chance to meet. Many actors, musicians and artists have been discovered via the social media airwaves. Animals and missing children have been rescued, and criminals have been found because of the power of social media. However, we have to ask how much power is too much? When does it all become too extreme?

Today one cannot scroll through their newsfeed without being bombarded with graphic images, misleading, depressing, negative and let’s not forget poorly researched news articles. There are videos of animals being tortured, people being beaten and murdered, deadly car accidents, people jumping off buildings and bridges, police officers shooting people, people shooting police officers, terrorist attacks, riots and vicious rampages. What’s worse is how many people give life to these stories by sharing them. Who are we really helping by spreading these graphic videos? Just today I have seen a video of Richard Rojas plowing through a huge crowd of people in Time Square at least 10 times. What’s worse is now Facebook plays these videos as you scroll by, no longer allowing you to decide if you want to click the link. Many wonder what is happening to our society, because it seems as though it is becoming more sick and twisted by the day. It’s in my opinion, that the world we live in has always been this way, it has just become more public. Our exposure to news use to be limited to local issues, and large criminal cases like OJ Simpson and Casey Anthony. Today we are subjected to news from every corner of the globe no matter how large or small. It makes us believe things are worse today than they ever were before. What is worse still, is media outlets no longer take the time to fact check; the goal is to report the breaking news first, risking accuracy. Then the false information spreads at an exponential rate much like a game of telephone, but on a larger scale. Millions retweet and share posts from unreliable sources, and before you know it everyone has the wrong information. Who can remain positive with all of these horrible things being shoved in our faces constantly?

People rarely share happy news. My newsfeed is flooded with negativity, and it worries me to see so many people in turmoil. Are there lives really as bad as they portray, or does it just appear that way because it has become habit to use social media as a platform to complain? Then we have the people who complain about others posting too many happy things. Crazy, am I right? We live in a world where people become annoyed with other people being happy, and expressing that. I personally would love to see more pictures of your kids, more posts about the successes and triumphs in your life, or that guy or girl you are desperately in love with. Shout it from the rooftops every day if you want. Lord knows this world could use a little more love.

If all of that negativity isn’t enough for my brain, the constant bullying is mind blowing. When I was in school of course we had bullying, but at the end of the day we could escape it and go home. With social media, bullying is a threat 24/7. Kids use social media as a way to shame and belittle others. They say horribly vicious things in a place for everyone to see, which in my opinion seems that much worse. It’s not just our kids either, even adults troll pages with the sole intention of tearing someone down or starting a fight. Everyone is a keyboard warrior, brave enough to say things they would never say if they weren’t behind a screen. No one can have a different opinion or belief, without being called something disgusting, which makes social media a very tricky place since we all have different beliefs and opinions. Something that was once considered so great about our country, has become the one thing that seems to be tearing us apart. Adults literally behaving like animals.

What might be the saddest part in all of this, is that we are actually placing our self-worth in the hands of social media. There is too much focus on how many followers we have, and how many likes and shares we get. Why are we letting other people, especially people we hardly know on the internet, determine our value? Most struggle to even put their phone down; we are chained to them. Constantly checking our phones to ensure we don’t miss something. I know I have been guilty of this very thing. The new generations are actually becoming incapable of forming real relationships, because they no longer have the skills to communicate in the real world. I personally have taken a step back from social media. I closed my business which heavily relied on social media marketing, and have decided to take back my life. I’ve come to enjoy my time off the grid, spending time with my family, and doing the things I use to love. It’s amazing how much your mood can change for the better when you decrease the social media in your life. I promise everyone should try it.