A lot of things are expected of us nowadays: eat well, exercise, maintain an upstanding GPA and also have an obscene amount of followers on social media. Social media is a beast. It’s an untamable beast whose trap we voluntarily step in because of society’s expectations. [Insert photo of you stepping into a fiery pit, waving good-bye to your loved ones.] Have you ever thought about what your life would be like without it? What are the negatives? Not seeing what your ex is doing everyday? Does that really make you feel better, honey? Here are some well-rounded reasons why holding down your social media apps and pressing the sweet little red ‘X’ will make your life better.
1. Think of all the time you’ll have.
Have you ever thought to add up how much time you spend flipping and scrolling through social media apps? Lord knows you use your social media WAY more than you use any other application on your phone – maybe even more than the camera. I know that I wake up and immediately open social media for a good half hour because honestly, I don’t know how to have a relaxing time in bed. Has anyone else noticed that people don’t know how to lay in bed and just lay there and listen to the birds and be happy? Even with a lover in the bed, most people STILL grab their phone instead of kiss their lover good morning. How psychotic is that? Morning time to oneself is essential to truly appreciate how wonderful life is. Imagine how happy everyone would be if they spent their morning social media time thinking about how thankful they are for everything life has blessed them with – and getting excited for the day! The same is true for evenings. If everyone cut out the 30 minutes of social media they indulge in at night and replaced it with a half hour of thankfulness and love for their lives, we would be a more positive, productive and wonderful generation.
2. Unrealistic expectations are EVERYWHERE in social media.
I hear the various excuses constantly; “Why do you use social media?” – “To catch up with my friends! I love them!!!!” LIES. You are all lying to yourselves. Our generation is bitter and angry, and I think they like it that way because of the negative habits they so frequently foster. You all spend hours a day on these various apps for various reasons. People on Twitter are all looking for drama and “tea.” You don’t care how your friend’s birthday party went – you’re ready to pounce on the first b*tch who leaves a snarky comment on her pictures of it. You would rather spend hours “gathering information” on your ex’s sketchy lady friends than look at anything your friends post that is pure enough to not include shade of some sort. On Instagram, you’re looking to make yourself jealous of people in some deep, dark, psychological way that you will change the way you look and talk to mimic them so you can have the “perfect life.” Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who set these standards? Who said having millions, a baby daddy and a big a*s creates a happy life? WEIRD SOCIAL MEDIA TWISTED SOCIETY, that’s who! And social media wants you to look at these promoted and suggested posts in order for you to envy the people who get chosen for this high honor of society choosing them as the idea of the perfect person. But, newsflash; everyone who doesn’t pretend to be anything they’re not is perfect. Perfection cannot be defined.
3. Does looking through people’s lives really have any positives?
What more do people really get from social media except information about people’s lives that they never asked for? No one truly feels happy for other people having a grand old time anymore, it’s just, “Oh look, Bridget got a cat. How wonderful. I wish I had a cat.” And then you throw your phone across the room and check yourself in for some treatment somewhere. And why is that? Because we see news about other people’s lives so frequently (almost all the time) that we have become immune to it. There is no way for us to appreciate wonderful news about the people we follow anymore because we go through their lives everyday on an app. Thus, nothing is special to us anymore. Think about how wonderful and personal it would be if your friend dropped you a line to tell you about something special happening in their lives. You know why it’s special? Because he/she is thinking about just you and just not posting it on Instagram and hoping you see it, along with her 600 other insignificant followers. If staying connected with your friends is truly what keeps you from deleting your social media apps, you can just text or call them and say, “I miss you, what’s been going on with you lately? :)”
4. It’s addictive.
I fill in the gaps in my day with social media because I don’t know what else to fill it with. I’m addicted. Feel awkward? Peruse Twitter. Bored? Scroll through Snapchat and watch meaningless stories so you look like you’re busy doing something. Why is having nothing to do such a sin? Enjoy your solitude, my friends. Look around you. There is more to the world than tiny, “interesting” pictures on a screen. Social media is a beast and it will control you more than you imagine. You will question things you post, even as the most confident person, because you will be afraid of what one person (such as your mother-in-law or that weird soccer boy at your school you used to have a crush on) will think. It is WEIRD. Everyone should simply avoid such thoughts. (I am telling you how to avoid them now so LISTEN.)
Bottom line is, there’s just too much negativity involved with social media to keep it. If you’re really worried about how people are doing, stop being so scared and send them a text or, better yet, call them. If you wouldn’t call or text them, or if they wouldn’t do the same for you, they don’t deserve you caring about their existence so much.