The Addiction is Real!

Imagine a world that doesn’t revolve around smartphones or social media. Back when you had to pick up a landline and call your best friend’s house to see if they could come out to play. There were no worries about what was trending, selfies, or who had the hottest new song on their profile. Life was simpler and perhaps easier then. Then came the dawn of social media and changed the world forever. People glued to their latest model of the iPhone or MacBook constantly updating statuses and keeping up with their favorite celebrities lives. As a whole, our society has transformed into a place where it is acceptable to upload dozens of selfies a week and worst of all, we not only accept but welcome the “duck face.”

As with almost every new craze there comes both positive and negative feedback and outcomes. In my opinion, this has caused more bad than good. Growing up in this generation where it seems as if no one carries real life conversations anymore has become the cultural norm. Why waste your breath when you can just chat via Facebook or Twitter? Not to mention the dangers social media has incorporated into our lives. As if texting and driving wasn’t bad enough, now the fear that the car in the lane next to you is tweeting away behind the wheel is a major cause for concern. If you are not responsible enough to use social media is a major way than maybe you should not have it at all. Aside from the physical harm it can cause, one must also be aware they will be held responsible for the verbal abuse they can cause to others by means of cyberbullying. We live in a day and age where there are so many people out there who get a kick out of picking on others over the internet and it is time we put an end to it. Social media was made to keep in touch, share common interest, and meet new people, not harm others.

Just recently during the presidential election, reports of fake articles were popping up on Facebook. Concerned voters were getting false information simply from reading the title causing it to sway their opinions on different candidates and policies. This was bad for everyone who came in contact with these articles especially those who were believing everything they read. This is a perfect example of abusing the perks of social media.

We have come from an age where cell phones were obsolete to a time where you are looked down upon if you do not have the latest iPhone. We are judged by how many followers/friends/retweets we have and not by the actual content we post. At the rate we are going I believe in the future social media will completely, if it has not already, take over everyone’s lives. Everything will be done online and there will no longer be a need to be interacting in person ever again.

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