Social Media Obsessed Generation

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This weekend as I was out with all of my friends, I heard a bunch of reoccurring statements and I asked myself, what is this generation coming to? Between all of the technology coming out each year and all of the new apps, we keep ourselves occupied 24/7 without even connecting face to face with another human being. Some statements I heard were, “What filter should I pick?”  “Can you like my insta?” “I just posted a selfie!” “Favorite my tweet, nobody has yet…” “Check my snapchat story of last night.”

Do any of these quotes sound familiar to you? If they don’t then you are definitely not a part of this generation: the social media obsessed generation. From Instagram, to twitter, to snapchat, we are all constantly preoccupied. And why not be? It gives us instant gratification, instant confidence, instant everything. Our iphones may as well be attached to our hands permanently. No matter where we are, or what we’re doing, we all feel the need to stop and look at our phones. It’s as if a crucial, life threatening event just got sent to us via text message and we can’t stop reading it. Every part of our lives is documented day in and day out. If you don’t believe me… stop reading this article and look around. Point proven! Below are a few scenarios that show how phones and social media are used constantly, and I bet you won’t even realize you do these things

1. When you’re going out to a party/bar: We’re all getting ready in our rooms to go out. We take snapchat selfies at almost every step of our getting ready process, JUST to prove to all of our “snapchat bffs” that we’re a fun time and ready to go out. We go to the pre-game and it may as well be a photoshoot, with people saying things like, “I really want a good insta tonight!” Instead of socializing with one another, people sit and edit their pictures to post on social media to show OTHERS how good of a time they’re having. Shouldn’t we all actually be having a genuinely good time together? Continuing with the rest of the night, there are more pictures taken, and this is where the snapchats come in. All of the people there make snapchat videos to show how fun college really is… but how much fun is videotaping others, when you could be dancing and having conversations without documenting your every move?

2. Going out on a date with friends/significant others: People of this generation feel the constant need to snapchat every single step of their day. They feel the need to show everyone who they are with, what they are doing, and even what they are eating! It’s all for the attention, and I’m guilty too, but think about it. Does every “friend” on your list care that you’re having dinner with your boyfriend at some restaurant that nobody knows? Or that you’re ‘pigging out’ on a ladies night and just don’t care? It’s all about the instant gratification. There is no privacy anymore. If you upload something anyone can know what you are doing at any given time, and for some reason… we all like that.

3. Going about your day in general: Nowadays, when something happens to or around us, we don’t run and tell our closest friend. Instead, we TWEET it! People of this age-group love for everyone to know everything that’s occurring in their lives, so what better way than to post about it on social media? Got a good grade on your test? Tweet it. Love your significant other more than anything? Tweet it instead of telling them to their face! This is what our generation is coming to. Is it really more important for your hundreds of followers, who you don’t even personally know well, to know every step of your day? Apparently, we think so. Having a bad day, craving a specific food, or really need a drink after that super hard test? Those problems are all supposedly solved by tweeting.

Our generation is obsessed, and we cannot help it. Having somebody “like” your picture, favorite your tweet, or screenshot your funny snapchat feels good to us. And the saddest part is that barely anybody truly notices how addicted we’ve become. We hear it from our parents and grandparents, but have you ever really sat and thought about it yourself? We are losing the ability to communicate without feeling awkward. We’d rather text someone than go up to them in person. Our life skills are getting washed away all because of the media, which will affect us when we go out into the real world. Situations like going for interviews, making a good impression at an internship or job, or even getting into a real relationship will all become more difficult if we don’t know how to truly communicate like the generations that have come before us. Though it is a part of our world that isn’t going away, everyone should take a minute, step back, put down their phone, and look around. There’s a world out there with real people, and we’re all missing it by looking down.

• SUNY Oneonta Her Campus