DO YOU HAVE A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
Although I am only 21 years old, I have had the opportunity to witness the evolution of technology and social media right before my eyes. It all began when my family decided to upgrade our home desktop computer with Apple's newest invention at the time; the iMac. The iMac was able to take photos and videos, download music and movies, and chat with friends and family just by a touch of a button. In addition, the iMac provided me with a new way to communicate. For the first time ever, I was able to visually connect to my cousins, via social media, who lived in the state of New Jersey. Since my home is in New Hampshire, the iMac ultimately created a long-lasting relationship between individuals who were unable to see each other often. Although I did not know it at the time, the addition of the iMac to the O'Neill household was the start of my relationship with technology and the beginning of my online presence using social media platforms, like skype.
When I was in fifth grade, my curiosity about social media began to consume not only me but my friend's minds as well. Since we were not on any platforms yet, we wondered why most of our older siblings' time was spent posting, messaging, and swirling their social media platform Facebook. Like everything else in life, we looked up to our older family members and wanted to be like them, naturally, my friends and I wanted the chance to do the same; however, we were told by our parents we were not old enough to join platforms like these. This response kept me questioning why. Are social media platforms safe? Is it healthy for anyone if it causes parents with many concerns if their children are given access? Why are there any concerns at all? I would shortly be able to find out all these questions for myself as I grew up and learned first-hand for myself.
Since I was beginning a new school, where I was forced to leave my old friends behind, my parents finally gave in and allowed me to create my own Facebook account as a way to stay in touch. Around the same time, most of my friends were given permission to create Facebook profile pages as well. In the beginning, we mainly used the site to tag and post pictures with one another. We also would use the instant messaging feature to make plans and share our day-to-day updates. In the same year, I joined Facebook, two of the most popular social media networks, Instagram and Snapchat, developed their way into the media world. My one social media platform quickly turned into an active three and the time spent using it increased significantly. It became unhealthy, but why?
At such a young age, I began comparing my life to what others portray on social media. I was spending more time worrying about the number of likes I received on a post than what truly made me happy. For a large portion of my teenage years, my world revolved around how I looked on social media and posting content that would get the most engagement. I became obsessed with what people thought about me and technology as a whole. When I started spending most of my time with my head in my phone, I came to the realization that I was starting to have an unhealthy relationship with technology. Since then, I made the executive decision, for myself, to limit my screen time drastically. In the past, my screen time has averaged around 4 hours per day. In my opinion, I've just found for myself that my happiness and engagement in everyday life are higher when I am in the moment. Today, my screen time is down several hours, hovering around just 2 hours per day. The percentages of my social media accounts in the last few months are way down from when I first was getting into social media. That unhealthy relationship that I had with my phone and social media, is shared by so many other girls and kids in my generation. I've learned definitely, I think the more we can stay out of our phones and live in the moment, the happier and more valued I feel.
Since the iMac computer was first brought to my house, my relationship and love for technology and social media have grown, and I have learned the importance of social media, as well as the detractions from using technology. Learning to limit distractions and screen time from social media and technology can help bring is best out of using social media.
Comments
Post a Comment