I will be the first to admit that I have wasted hours upon hours scrolling through an infinite number of TikTok videos, maybe even investing a little too much time and emotion into whatever internet drama is taking over the app. We might never see a time when social media doesn’t exist, and I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing, but what will happen if we can’t find a balance?
Coming back to my apartment from class the other day, I found that the digital media age looked almost startling. I looked around the shuttle and found that nearly everybody was looking at their phones, necks bent 90 degrees for the entire shuttle ride, or phones pressed close to their face. A girl next to me sneezed while waiting, and she couldn’t hear me say “Bless you” through the music in her headphones.
It’s a tricky spot for me, because just a few seconds before making that discovery, it was also me. I was also scrolling, going through my feed, looking for something I can’t even remember anymore. I also listen to music anywhere I go, always with headphones in whenever I find the chance, probably even while making that same observation.
Another Instance
Yet, I noticed something similar in my Communications class. My professor politely and very fairly asked us as a class to give him some time where we paid attention and listened. Even though it might be boring, even when we wanted to be anywhere besides lecture, he simply wanted the eighty minutes of class time to be his. Even after this request, one I’ve never had a professor ask for, I noticed that still, barely anyone did.
This confused me, and I find that it still does. Yes, it might be a boring class at times, but my professor makes it hard to be bored. He’s engaging, tells stories about his real life, and asks good questions, but nobody could really pay attention.
There’s a disconnect happening. We are living in a time where almost nothing in the real world can compare to whatever we see on our screens. It’s no longer possible to be bored and pay attention when there’s constant access to entertainment. We can’t change the time we are in, but we have control over ourselves. I fear that we lose it when social media is in the equation. We take pictures just to post, ordering feeds meticulously with the purpose of being seen in a specific way.
But, Here’s The Thing
I don’t think this should be seen as a critique; I think social media can be a beautiful way for expression, paving a path for creativity that can’t be seen anywhere else. Connecting with people instantly, the way that social media allows, should be seen as a great benefit. Especially when those connections can take no more than a few seconds, yet be enough to make friendships and relationships stronger.
However, I feel that finding a clear balance is necessary pop and becoming increasingly important as the usage of social media only grows. I feel we need to get rid of living only for a lens and do it for ourselves. Post when it’s fun and stop when it feels like we’re putting on an image that doesn’t seem to fit. Maybe we can try to dedicate more time to being present, listening in class even when it’s boring and even when we don’t want to.
We are spoiled with the constant ability to distract ourselves from everything going on in our lives, in the world, and even in real connections. It’s easier to fill gaps of time with information than to figure out what else is out there. There is so much more to life, even through hard times, boredom, or a need for validation. Yet, it can be easier to cling to apps rather than sit with those feelings.
It gets dangerous when we start to associate worth with likes, and confuse that attention with the real stuff. I don’t think the answer is to disappear from your phone or social media completely, and finding a balance looks different for everyone. My only hope is that people finally try to find it. I think there’s a lot more to find out about living without constant external influence, and it’s beautiful to be able to find it yourself.