Our addiction to social media

I, along with the majority of my generation, have many problems. These problems that I believe are all centred around the dominant inclusion of social media. 94%* of teens use Facebook and have an average of 425 friends, I myself have almost 700. How is it possible that I have friendships with this enormous amount of people? The answer is simple, I don't. My generation comes into contact with various people, the first thing we do is friend them. We get a new job, we add everyone that works there, we go to a party, we add people we meet once, and call them a friend. With all of these friends, how could any of this be a problem right? How could one person ever be lonely with so many so called 'friends'?

A friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, has had a more involved relationship with social media than I have. From a young age she was always shy around people, but the internet has made it possible for her to express herself more freely, and channel what she wishes to be without physically doing anything. She has filled her life with the connections she has made with people who share in her love of online communications platforms, and has had her fair share of pitfalls and disappointments no differently to those experienced in real life. The point I look to make with this example, is the 'friends' that she has made through the internet are not real. There may be real people on the other end of the computer, but they do not know her, or care about her. They would not come to her birthday party, they would not celebrate New years with her, they would not come to her aid if she was in need. These people that she has met online are unreliable, and I have seen, time and time again, her trust shattered when a  guy she meets online all of a sudden stops responding to her messages. Heartbreak is a thing everyone will experience in their lifetime, but the fact that she invests herself so emotionally in a person that was never there for her in the first place, has degraded her self confidence to practically nothing.

In recent times I tried to go out with this friend, go grab a coffee, or visit a bookstore, just to catch up. I was faced with her crippling fear of judgement by others and a plea to just stay at home. Her dependance on social media became her permanent crutch. It prevented her from working to better herself esteem and herself in general, and provided her with a distraction from reality. Meanwhile her selfies and constant status updates present a confident facade.

I tell this story not to diminish the use of social media, but to advocate for the responsible use of social media. I propose we take time out of our Facebook lurking and selfie taking to message an old friend and meet up for coffee. I propose we put more emphasis on the amount of friends that we can call when we need, than the number of likes on a picture.

I myself am not perfect. I wake up in the morning and without fail check my Facebook and my Instagram before I look up the weather. I challenge myself and you to spend your time out enjoying your life, not inside and constantly checking your news feed.

If you have time, check out this study:
 http://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/ICWSM/ICWSM13/paper/viewFile/6124/6351

*http://marketingland.com/pew-the-average-teenager-has-425-4-facebook-friends-44847