I’ve broken up with social media more times than I can count. And today, social media is still the most stressful relationship in my life.
I find myself constantly deleting an app in an attempt to clear my head and live without the media overload, only to start missing messages from my friends and feeling awkward when I’m standing in line with nothing to look at on my phone. So I re-download the apps, and the cycle begins again.
Social media is inescapable in this digital age, which is precisely what makes me resent it so much. Whether it’s Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram — the nature of social media is designed to get us hooked and make us feel a sense of isolation if we’re not plugged in 24/7.
I find myself falling into the trap of comparing my own life to the lives I see on social media. I understand that there are layers of reality to a glamorous Instagram post; but in a world where appearances are more important than reality itself, it’s often hard to see past the veil.
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As millennials with savvy tools and open minds, we’ve become pretty adept at juggling social media and in-person socializing. Yet, I still find that there’s an authenticity that has been lost in the way we interact with each other.
Social media has made having conversations with new people and forming meaningful relationships harder. I miss the days when you would get to know someone through a phone call or an in-person hang out. Now, people share their Snapchat username with others way before they share their phone number.
But, what bothers me the most about social media is that I’ve lost myself in the intent. The apps were originally created to allow people to connect with other all over the world. Snapchat, for instance, was all about sending a quick snap shot of yourself or an event without clogging your camera roll.
Now social media is geared towards curating an inauthentic version of yourself to present to the world. By creating the perfect “Snapstory” or the most aesthetically pleasing Instagram post, we use these apps to fuel our narcissism and create a false self-image rather than to connect with others.
Even when I’m scrolling through my Instagram feed, it’s like a gut instinct to click on my own profile and scroll through my posts. I’ll re-watch my own Snapchat story multiple times after posting it. I’m always wondering if my presence is good enough for the rest of the world.
I don’t think social media apps are solely to blame, and the answer isn’t to scrutinize the millennial generation either. Social media has infiltrated our daily lives in a very complicated way. And until I can make up my own mind about the tools, I’ll probably live in my on-again, off-again relationship with it for a while.
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