Social Media

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1000+ Beautiful Social Media Photos Pexels · Free Stock Photos
Social media: the bane of a parent's existence and the meaning behind a teenager’s. Most families are in constant tension when it comes to scrolling through that infamous feed of curated posts. 

At a young age, my opinion on social media was a direct translation of my parents'. I vigorously defended that the whole activity was frivolous and that it would be impossible to elicit any sort of enjoyment from an endless stream of short bits of text. However, like most things, it was easier to despise from the outside than it was the inside.


The ylem of my life’s social media infestation commenced with Discord. I would spend countless hours conversing with strangers over the platform. They would relay stories of browsing through Reddit or Twitter and finding something funny that they shared. I was constantly tempted by this mysterious land of (sometimes) creative jokes and memes. Eventually, I gave into temptation.

For several years, my days were dominated by scrolling through endless Reddit posts and Twitter feeds. I couldn’t stop.

Despite all the time I spent on the platforms, I hardly bothered to create anything of my own. Most of the time, an entire session of browsing escaped my memory entirely.

This is what I believe to be the danger of social media: the extreme ease at which someone can become a passive “lurker” and pour so much time into something that sees no result. 

If one uses the platform constructively, there can be many benefits. New friends, a sense of self-worth, and a renewed knowledge can all be garnered from social media use (at least from my own personal experience). 

I have now been able to cap my addiction. With Apple’s Screen Time feature, I limit my use of apps like Reddit, Twitter, and Instagram to 15 minutes a day, and, within those 15 minutes, I try to post at least one thing. 

This is not a perfect system, but I suggest to you, social media users of the world, to make a concerted effort to consider your social media consumption and ensure that it is something that grants you genuine happiness.

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