Have you ever gone on a camping trip and didn't bring your phone with you? Did you constantly feel the entire trip that you wished you could snap chat what you are doing so everyone could see how much fun you're having? Did you ever worry so much about getting the perfect shot of the sunset that you missed seeing the actual sunset with your very own eyes?
Why is it that social media has become the motivating factor of what we choose to do?
It is true, that social media is now ingrained into our minds and our thought processes. There's not way out of this one, it is what it is now.
If you think about it, we are the last generation that will know what life was like without a device at our hands. All children born after the year 2000 will never be able to comprehend life without a screen.
I'm not saying that is a sad thing. Social media does a lot of good for our society including keeping us more connected, and making us more efficient in finding information. But we need to remember what social media has taken away from our society and do our best to preserve those aspects, because we are the only generation that truly can.
So what does our society now lack because of social media?
In my personal opinion the largest down fall of social media is our skewed perception of ourselves and others.
Instead of perceiving someone based on their personality, we now measure people's lives by their looks, their clothing, their nice houses, and their opportunities. So what happens to everyone who doesn't have a nice camera or the body of a model or the funds for nice things. Do we automatically judge them for that? We do. But we shouldn't.
It is inevidable that social media is going to influence the way we perceive people. It's natural to compare ourselves, we did it before social media, but we should try our best to not let that influence the way we feel about ourselves. It is going to finluence us. iT is. That is inevitable.
The treatment? Use Discipline. Try not to let social medial be your instant go-to. When you're at a stop light, just stop and look around you. When you get home from a long day, lay on the couch and talk to your family. When you're in class, keep it in your backpack.
Secondly, social media impairs our ability to interact with other individuals at the level we used to. Teenagers cannot complete a conversation with an adult without their phones buzzing about 20 times. Young adults and college students often lack the ability to confidently approach their boss, their roommate, or their spouse and talk through issues. In social settings when you run out of things to talk about it's so much easier to pull out your phone and scroll through instagram. When you're on a date, the phone comes out at least a couple times during the date. Even adults struggle with these issues as well. Why can't we just have a decent conversation here? We did it 5 years ago!!
You know all the facts, so what are we going to do to change this!!! Employers aren't going to care how many likes you have on your picture or the cool places that you've been or captured. They want to be able to interact with you!!
I do believe that social media is a form of art. I LOVE following people who post awesome pictures of awesome places. Who know how to rearrange an individual in a setting and make it look dreamy. I think social media is great! But we should not let it take away from our society what is most important, and that is our self-confidence and our relationships with others.
We have 24 hours a day to do whatever we choose. If you take away work (8 hours), studying (3 hours), classes (4 hours) sleeping (7 hours), exercise (1 hour), socializing (1 hour), eating (1 hour).. .that leaves us with a grand total of: 1 hour of personal free time. Do we use that time draining our eyes on a screen?
We cannot forget that our eternity is also based on this life. We need to make time for our savior. WE need to spend genuine time studying and pondering rather than reading a quote on Instagram and spending the rest of the time flaunting over someone's cute wardrobe.
"Spiritual food is necessary for spiritual survival, especially in a
world that is moving away from belief in God and the absolutes of right
and wrong. In an age dominated by the Internet, which magnifies messages
that menace faith, we must increase our exposure to spiritual truth in
order to strengthen our faith and stay rooted in the gospel."
Tips for more effective use on social media:
1. Delete it for a week and notice the difference in how you see the world
2. Follow only your family and close friends
3. Turn your phone off when reading your scriptures or studying'
4. Journal about your experiences rather than posting them
You can't drive forward if you're always looking in the rear view mirror
