Let’s face it- social media has overtaken most of our lives. It’s the first thing we check in the morning, the last thing we check at night, our entertainment throughout all of our boring classes, and our immediate go-to for all of those free moments throughout the day. I find that many people cannot even sit through a dinner or social gathering for more than five minutes without checking their social media updates. Turns out, it’s become a way of life and the dominant method through which people communicate.
This addiction has caused social networkers to constantly feel the need to share all of their personal experiences with the general public such as breaking a nail, buying groceries, or getting a job promotion, the list goes on. It’s become nearly impossible to go to a restaurant and see people engaging in conversation without their phones in hand. I’ve witnessed couples and groups of friends sitting at a table and staring at their phones in silence the entire time while moving their fingers up and down their phone screens.
Is our generation so consumed by social media that we simply cannot function without it for more than a small period of time? If you are unsure of whether social media consumes your life, here are 15 signs to prove you may just be in a relationship with your social media accounts.
1. You go to the pumpkin patch every October to take artsy photos for Instagram.
A cute pair of boots and a scarf are absolutely necessary.
2. You specifically remember the dress you wore in your Instagram photo three months ago.
“Have I worn that outfit on Instagram already?”
3. At the beginning of the week, you’re already thinking about the throwback you want to post on Thursday.
You obviously couldn’t post all of your vacation photos from the Bahamas at once.
4. You’ve invested in a selfie stick so your Selfie Sundays are nothing short of perfection.
Sometimes, snapping the perfect angle seems impossible, but all of your problems have now been solved.
5. You calculate how many hours of sleep you can get before bed, until you find yourself scrolling through your feeds two hours later.
So much for those nine hours of sleep! It was just so tempting to take that Buzzfeed quiz on what Disney princess you are.
6. You don’t care how ugly your Snapchat poses look like in public. Waiting until you’re in the privacy of your own home to send a snap is unbearable.
“I came to class looking like a hobo today.”
7. When your boyfriend doesn’t respond to your text, you use the Facebook sidebar to see how long ago he was “active.”
If he was on Facebook after you texted him, he better run for his life.
8. You have no storage left in your phone because you downloaded too many applications to perfect your photos before posting them.
However, you refuse to delete any of your pictures to find more storage.
9. You purposely make your dinners look like they should be on Food Network so you can show off your “cooking skills.”
“I am literally such a chef.”
10. You somehow end up on your boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend’s best friend’s sister’s Instagram at 2 in the morning.
You do everything in your power to make sure you don’t double tap. A like at that point would make you seem like a total creep.
11. You feel slightly betrayed when you lose a follower.
“Am I really that annoying?” Answer: yes.
12. You’re convinced your boyfriend is cheating on you when he doesn’t like your photo in the first five minutes you post it.
“Why haven’t you liked my picture yet?”
13. You’ve actually set a goal for the number of followers you want to reach.
800 followers by the end of the month is ideal.
14. You immediately text your friends when you post a photo to reach 11 likes.
“Guys, the picture is up. Go like it, NOW!”
15. Finally, you realize that the only way you found this link was by scrolling through a social media feed.
You did it again.