"Social Media Is Ruining Your Life!"

The Internet has truly changed our lives and is revolutionizing the way we interact with each other, but, what about social media? We live in a world of technology where everything is accessible 24/7. From shopping to work to school, we now have access to these many apps and devices that connect us with others around the globe. These are all things we use every day. It’s no wonder then why people are starting to see how much it can affect their life and relationships with close friends and family and even with strangers.

I spoke to one man who was told by his friend ‘stop posting on your Facebook page! You’re ruining your life!’ And that’s totally true. Social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat have become such an integral part of our daily lives. Especially today, I’m sure you’ve used these sites to help you stay connected with those you care about if not to get something out of them. I could go on for hours about social media and its effect on us but I think it’s time to talk about something simple. It helps us connect with others. But it’s also affecting us negatively in ways we don’t know about. In this article, I will be discussing some facts about social media and how it’s impacting friendships. To start these conversations, let’s first look at a recent study done by Pew Research Center (2018). They conducted “the most comprehensive survey ever done of U.S. adults and teens views on social media” using an anonymous online panel – that made up 73% of youth ages 18 to 29. This research shows that teens and young adults have grown more socially aware on platforms like Facebook and Instagram over the past year, giving insight into the positive impact they see these platforms having on their future careers. However, there’s a downside to the data too as only 4% of respondents said their friends actually follow them. With so much attention being paid on social media, it’s not surprising that people seem to lose sight of what real-life friends are supposed to be doing. If only we had been paying closer attention…

Let’s face it: social media makes us lazy. When scrolling through Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, do you feel like you just need a break from all the fun going on right in front of you? While the internet itself provides many benefits, it can easily take away from us. For example, scrolling through your feed of messages and seeing new posts can make us think that we are missing out. Instead of interacting with those that engage with us, we end up spending less time reading and engaging with other people. It would be nice if the notifications were left off and we didn’t see all of the people we are connected to in our little corner of the earth, but sadly, a large majority of teenagers are addicted to these apps and spend almost 20 hours per week on these technologies. Some say it’s because they want to be popular and reach out to different demographics. What they aren’t realizing though is that social networking is addicting and isolating at the same time. Many of these teenagers are already suffering from anxiety and depression, which can increase feelings of self-consciousness especially when you compare yourself to other teens. According to Pew, “one in four high school students (26%) and younger teens (18 percent) say they feel depressed because of social media” (Pew Research Center 2018). Since many of us take photos and videos that are posted on social networks, we end up viewing our friends that are uploading the content that is showing everyone else’s reality. Whether we realize it or not, we are becoming the next generation of socialites. Not only are we wasting time on someone else’s life in hopes of looking good, but we are damaging our own feelings of wellbeing as well. Because of the amount of times we scroll through the wrong information, we learn more from a person rather than trying to understand them through their words. As we continue to rely and accept social media habits, it will make our friends even scarcer just because it took away from their real-life interactions.

Social media is becoming a massive influence on the way we view ourselves, which impacts our ability to make friends. Our mental health suffers and is affected just as much as our peers. Although social networks like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube allow users to remain connected with loved ones, it does not take away from your emotional wellbeing. There are several groups that can help improve your mental health like My Space Depression Support Group (my space depression support group is my favorite), Calm Chat with Friends (this chat is amazing), etc. But while these methods are great, it doesn’t mean they are the best solution. One of the main reasons why it is important to stop relying on Facebook, Instagram, and any type of social network to connect with your friends, is due to the fact that they are putting us down. This creates negative peer pressure to post less content and disconnect with people that might not be interested in connecting with you anymore. People should remember to focus on communicating effectively with the people around you instead of scrolling through social networks because it takes time to build rapport. How often are you really in contact with the people around you and it feels natural to ask about something because that topic just seems so easy to figure out in conversation? Unfortunately, we all tend to ignore that connection until it becomes uncomfortable or uninteresting. On top of that, all of those apps have become addictive. After spending all day on them, we may have trouble sticking to another schedule (I do, myself) due to lack of energy and motivation. Here’s one thing: social networks don’t give you an answer for anything. So before continuing on, please think twice about if that app really works for you. You never know what type of connection you would be able to form in the long run. Even if you believe that your friends post more because they value your opinion, I assure you that isn’t always the case. I personally think that sometimes, it’s okay to have a balance between what we post online and what we post offline. Sometimes, we just need more alone time because that’s when communication happens and that’s where our true personalities come out. Overall, when talking to young people, it’s essential to keep their relationship strong with their friends. Being a teen all the time means that there is less time spent on activities outside of school, so the last thing you want to do is end up developing bad habits all thanks to social media. Hopefully, it’s clear that there is hope in modern society to improve our current reality. That being said, once we realize that online connections are taking up an abundance of social and personal time, there’s no reason to continue to ignore the risks that come along with that kind of constant distraction and addiction. Yes, we do want to maintain our friendships, but what we really need is less time on social media. Time for us to spend with friends and family, making memories we wouldn't normally be able to experience.