My Thoughts on the Age of Social Media By: Emily Kruger

      Alright friends, I want to touch on a topic that is indeed very relevant in this day and age but is not talked about nearly as much: social media. Being born in 2004, I grew up when the iPhone began to dominate the technology market and ultimately creep into our everyday lives. I remember myself "saving up" (with my parents' help of course) for an iPod in 2nd grade, and playing games on it all the time. Social media came about when I was quite young, so by the time I reached late elementary school I already had an Instagram page and a Snapchat account. I feel that as I got a little older, these social media apps became a greater part of my life at an increasing rate. Now, I know for a fact that I spend way too much time on social media, and I have no idea how to escape. 

    Looking back on my younger self, I really wish that our generation didn't have to grow up with social media. In my opinion, it made us all grow up to fast. I feel as if a lot of us skipped our "awkward stages" and jumped right from being children to being teenagers. With the constant burden of comparison on social media, I was always trying to make myself look (and even act) much older than I was. Much of our generation looked up to the celebrities on social media who spent hours editing themselves to look artificial, trying to attain a look that just wasn't possible. Beyond just the comparison aspect of social media, it is all around addictive. If I don't check my phone for 15 minutes, I genuinely get paranoid that someone is trying to contact me, even though everything is always alright. I have spent so much of my time looking down at my phone, that I truly forget to look up sometimes and enjoy specific moments. 

    Even though most of us are sucked into the trap of technology, I think a lot of us can come to an agreement that social media has at least a few negative effects on us. Somehow, even though I feel so strongly against it, I cannot bring myself to delete social media apps or take a break. Let me know how you feel about this! I need everyone's opinion!