I have always had mixed feelings about social media. Sometimes, I love it. Sometimes, I hate it. But mostly, I have been on the hate side of it. I personally have gotten lazier over time to text people. I would much rather talk to anyone in person. I have personally grown up where my phone was a mere tool to use to arrange a meet-up or update my parents.

Social media has its perks. However, the way we young adults and teenagers use it, well, let’s just say that we have lost our ability to trust anyone easily. Also, we have become addicted to being online 24/7 cause we might be a victim to FOMO (which apparently is fear of missing out) or relating to my last post, we want to be validated and trending 24/7.

Social Media was a way to communicate and reconnect with people. Somewhere along the way we made it our only channel to communicate. Somewhere along the way we abused it to our advantage and changed its purpose. I remember social media being a way to reconnect and stay in touch with people who were halfway across the world. I remember social media not taking over my life and where I lived in the moment. I remember not giving two shits where my phone was.

Whereas nowadays, I can’t leave my phone for five minutes without it going crazy like a drill fire alarm, which I mean to say indirectly, it’s annoying and unavoidable! We all have suddenly become obsessed with sharing every moment of our lives with everyone. It’s not that we are scared that we won’t get to relive the moment again, hell, that’s what your camera roll is there for. It’s that we are scared that if we disappear, we disappear and people will forget us. We don’t live in the moment anymore. We take pictures and videos of every damn thing. I do it, a lot. And I want to reduce it hence this experiment.

Social Media Addiction is real. I have seen too many of my friends who I am close to who have obsessively been on their phone while they are hanging out with me. Like hello, can you not? Spend time with me and talk to me and enjoy with me. The only three times I will excuse this behavior is 1) your friend is moving across the ocean and you’re not going to see them for a while and 2) when I do it in front of guys who I am not particularly interested in or don’t want to be around and 3) it’s a matter of life-or-death. Otherwise, get off your phone cause I am off my phone when I am with people cause its RUDE. Like ethics and manners just seem to have moved to Pluto, non-existent. You can hold off that conversation for three hours, pal.

I’m sure by now you can tell how much anger and hate I have towards phones, technology, and social media. It’s hard but it’s not impossible. Living your life through your phone and social media seems so overrated. Like we might as well become robots who are pre-programmed to share. I understand that people use social media as a platform to express and engage in things that they can’t do in person. Which I absolutely have nothing against.

But if you have stopped living your life in person to create a life online and be connected to people 24/7 then are you really living? Are you really there in person? Is your mind really there? Are you really paying attention to others in person? Do you personally like it when the other person is on their phone and not paying attention to you? Is it really that important to talk to that person over text who you will be away from for 3 weeks over your family? When did we prioritize the person online over the person in front of you? When did we let this take over our lives? How did we forget that balance? Why did we cross that thin line between sharing to show over sharing to show off? Ask these questions to yourself. Realise. Reevaluate. Reorganize. Don’t make being online your oxygen. 

Indian Chameleon’s Obiter Dictum for the Day
Put that phone down. Go offline for a day. Enjoy and Live. It’ll be worth it.