What is the first thing you do in the morning?
Well, if you’re like me, or any other teenager/young adult, you check your phone. While your eyes are still adjusting to daylight, you scroll through your feeds and answer any messages/notifications from the night before.
Technology is an incredible thing. I can interact with my mom, who lives two hours away, and feel as though were in the same room as we Facetime each other after a rough day. As creepy as it may seem, I can keep track of where my friends are thanks to Snapchat’s location map. I can send pictures and text messages in less than a second, to someone in the same room as me, or someone around the world. What we can do with a smartphone, almost the size of a note card is an incredible thing. But when does the social media on your smartphone start to take over?
Especially in college, boys and girls around the world find themselves relying on their smartphones for nearly everything. From navigating around a new city, to exchanging information about a homework assignment, in this day and age communication is being more and more digital, and less personal. We are the generation of tinder swiping instead of diner dates, juuls instead of cigarettes, smartphones instead of landlines, and social media instead of traditional forms of communication and interaction.
But, enough is enough. As a college student myself, I have become more and more aware of how social media has affected the way that I communicate with my peers and professionals. Instead of focusing on taking instagram worthy pictures the next time you hangout with friends, try to live in the moment and appreciate each others company. The next time you go home to visit your family over a break or holiday, avoid scrolling through irrelevant posts and spend quality time with your loved ones who you don’t always get to see. Before bed, try reading a book or watching a show, it might even help you fall asleep faster. While studying, turn your phone off along with all of the distracting notifications that come with it. Focus on what is happening in the moment, not on the web. Don’t let social media control your life.
In twenty years, when we’re all grown up, nobody is going to care how many likes you got on your pictures, but where you ended up at a career standpoint and the strong relationships you built throughout your time in school. Social media is a good way to pass time, but it is also a good way to waste time. Be cautious of how you use social media, and how often you do so. Who knows, you might even notice some fundamental changes in the way you communicate, learn, and relax.