him & her X: social media

H E R

I love scrolling through my instagram while I wait for my friend to pick me up. I like to tweet to the world when my dreaded class gets cancelled. And I can't help but share a couple puppy videos on facebook every now and then. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using social media. Especially for us Comm majors, we have to use it.

Social media is a big part of our lives, that much we know. But what happens when you realize it's, in fact, become your life? Social media connects us to friends and family who live near and far, it allows us to share our thoughts and ideas with the masses. But it can be all too easy to slide down the slippery slope of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, never to be seen again. That may be a bit dramatic, but it's true that a lot of us spend way too much time on social media.


H I M

Social Media is a fairly new way of life when you think about it. I would definitely say it has changed the way we do things now a days. I just happen to use social media for majority of my job so I tend to feel like it really does consume my time. What I have learned over the years is to not use it as much for leisure. We all spend too much time on it, so we need to find a way to break away from time to time and enjoy the moments. 

I believe that social media can be used for good. People often complain that it consumes time or that they get carried away with showing their online friends a perceived lifestyle they are living. We might all feel that way at times but I also think that it is great to know what is going on in our friends and families lives. Being able to open Instagram and see pictures of my nieces and nephews is such a blessing. Majority of the news I get these days comes from social media and it is awesome to receive it so quickly. So don't sit their and think that social media is bad. Just learn to moderate and make it just part of your life, not your whole life. Use it to stay connected, stay informed, and stay modern. 

Social media can be a blessing and a curse. If it's leaving you feeling stressed, sad, or anxious, then take a social media break.

Here are a few signs you've totally had it with social media, and should take a vacation:

1. You feel stressed all the time. 

I feel bad for those 13-year-olds, because I'm a full-fledged adult and even I sometimes can't handle the stress and chaos of my social media pages.

2. You feel separation anxiety when you're not online. 

The world is not going to end if you miss one tweet, or don't post a picture of your lunch. You should be able to spend a decent amount of time living your life sans Internet. 


3. You can't put your phone down with friends. 

We've all been on that lunch date with friends where everyone is on their phone and it sucks. Consider implementing a rule where all phones go in the center of the table, and the first one to touch theirs has to pay for the meal.


4. It's all you think about.

This is that feeling you get when driving down the road and you keep peeking over at your phone, tempted to pull over just so you can refresh your news feed. 


5. You are constantly comparing yourself to others. 

This is less about social media taking up too much of your time, and more about how it makes you feel. It's important to remember that people post versions of their best selves online, so it's important to not compare yourself to what you see in your feed.


6. You fear missing out.

Your Facebook feed can seem like a constant parade of all the fun stuff everyone else is doing, and it can really start to make you feel bad about yourself if you don't keep your expectations in check. Not everyone has to have fun 24/7, even though the garage of photos and updates makes it seem that way.