Where Do I Come In?

Social media is obviously something that is overwhelming society. So what can I personally do about it? One thing that can done is for me to set an example by not depending so much of my life on it. My sorority is an advocate for this as well. We have tried to get people less dependent on social media so we have removed our group Facebook page. While this might be an inconvenience at times, it allows for word to spread by physical interaction of our sisters, rather than with the use of technology.

I think that social media plays a very important role in our society, but when we overuse/misuse it, it defeats the original purpose of it. Social media is a means of communication. That being said, it should be used as such. We need to stray away from the bullying that arises from social media and the distraction it causes to ourselves and others. My anatomy class meets Mondays and Wednesdays for an hour and fifteen minutes. I find it impossible to make it through the class without checking my phone. Today my phone died right before class, so I was forced to pay attention the entire class. I can honestly say, without the use of my phone, I paid attention the entire class for the first time this semester.

Using and checking our phones/laptops/tablets every so often disrupts the brain's focus. It already takes awhile to become focused in on a topic, so when we check our social media cites when trying to learn, it's a struggle to get back into that momentum or groove of learning. If more people tried turning off their phones while in class, I guarantee test averages would be significantly higher. This not only goes for school, but at work as well. I know that when I had a "big girl" job this summer, working full-time in front of a computer Mon-Fri, I wanted to not work and check my social media at times. Staying focused is key, however, in being successful in school, work, and in life in general.

Bottom line is, this isn't going to be an overnight translation. People aren't just going to cut out social media completely, and I'm not asking for that either. What I am suggesting is that we monitor our use of it. If we learn to discipline ourselves of when to use it, and how we're using it, our society would be much more diligent with our time. I challenge you to try it. Whether at work or school, see if you can go that entire class without checking your phone, or that entire meeting without surfing the web. I guarantee your day will be MUCH more productive that you ever thought it could be if you try staying focused for the majority of the day.

What's the Solution?

The ultimate solution to this problem is completely inevitable. Unfortunately, social media has become so overwhelmingly used that I'm afraid there's no way to completely get rid of it!

A solution to this however, can be to remove the bullying, and negative attitudes that seem to be associated with social media. There has always been an issue with cyberbulling, but recently it has taken a drastic increase. Social media cites such as, askfm and tinder, are cites that are directed to finding that "special someone". How they differ from dating websites, is that on these cites you can rate people on how attractive they are, and answer questions regarding the person's physique.

At this age, from middle school to early college years, people are going through A LOT of changes. There are decisions to be made daily, and everyone is trying to discover their identity. If there is people telling you that you're not attractive or not on one's "hottie list", what is that going to do to your self esteem? This kind of trend is not good for anyone, I don't care how attractive you are.

Something needs to be done about this, and fast. We can't go on letting these things happen and just turn a blind eye to it. A possible solution is to prohibit the use of any website that asks questions that could negatively affect someone. While this is a great idea, there is still SO much that could be done. Even if cites such as these were banned, people still continue to be mean over twitter, facebook, instant message, etc. There is also the question of freedom of speech. Aren't we allowed to say what ever we want as long as it follows the guidelines of the first amendment?

Below is a link to an article advising parents to NOT let their children use Askfm. http://www.chicagonow.com/tween-us/2013/10/facts-about-ask-fm-parents/

There are so many problems with social media, but hardly any solutions. We have got to stop relying so much on social media because it is consuming our lives. Time should be spent interacting with humans face to face, participating in activities that stimulate our brains, not bashing people on social media or anything of that nature. Once people realize that a strong reliance on social media is not something good for this country, we can then address realistic solutions to removing it from our daily lives. It all starts with you.

What's the Problem/Who Does it Affect?

The problem is: the increase in the use of social media is consuming our lives. The reason this is such a problem is that it is making our social skills less and less valuable. When we spend all of our time browsing through newsfeeds/timelines/etc, we remove the actual social aspect of face-to-face interaction. Spending time on social media creates more distraction and consumes our minds with real-time events that negatively affect our work/school day.

The overuse of social media affects everyone. The more and more people use it, the more information that is put on the social media cites, and is streaming instantly. It affects anyone who opens their laptop, checks their phone, or even hears from someone else on those devices.

We need to reduce the use of social media before it negatively affects us even more than it already has. While I agree that having that "real-time" access to information is good sometimes, it is detrimental in other situations.