Social Media: The Newest Drug on The Market
Just a decade ago, most people were adamant on keeping their personal lives private from the rest of the world. Today, it is the complete opposite; society has grown addicted to sharing their every moment. The urge to check social media sites can be more tempting than alcohol, cigarettes, or sex. As with any drug on the market there is always a negative connotation that comes with it, but with social media the limitations are so mild. Everyone has access to this drug, making it incredibly easy to get addicted. Before the Internet, people had to engage in face-to-face conversations, there was no way to avoid it unless you eliminated yourself from society completely. Nowadays, technology has erased the need for human interaction and because of this our generation is becoming anti-social: romantic relationships are suffering, families are becoming distant, and people are becoming less productive at work, all because people can’t take their eyes off of their digital devices. In reality, we are disconnecting from the world around us each time we choose to distract ourselves in this “digital world”. I believe that the use of too much technology engenders a sense of social isolation. While technology has done many things to advance our lives, and make it easier to live, it often yanks us away from the physical world, negatively affecting our interpersonal relationships.
The word “addiction” comes from the Latin verb “addicere,” which means to give over, dedicate or surrender. Despite differences of opinion, most of us can understand that there are certain behaviors and situations in which the use of any drug becomes a destructive dependency. I firmly believe that social media has turned into a destructive dependency. While it may have started out as a means of communication and connection, it has quickly become something that is needed to make it through the day. I feel like
today no one is comfortable in the space they are in; we all want to be somewhere other than where we are in that moment. People have come to rely on their devices to take them away from reality and to places that make them feel connected with other people around the world. Using drugs to escape reality is not a healthy habit, so why should using social media, to do the same, be? It shouldn’t, because if you start doing this it will become harder and harder to say stop.
I believe that we need to take the advice of media theorist, Sherry Turkle, and “remember — in between texts and e-mails and Facebook posts — to listen to one another, even to the boring bits, because it is often in unedited moments, moments in which we hesitate and stutter and go silent, that we reveal ourselves to one another” (“The Flight From Conversation”). Look up from you’re damn phones people, and LIVE in the moment. Life is short, don’t waste the time you have!