Hashtag: Social Media Madness

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"Why is there no dislike button?"

"I wish I could like this a million times!"

"Vague-booking"

#SocialMediaMadness

I hopped on the social media train pretty early. I was ALL about the Myspace craze; I blogged, and messaged, and carefully chose my top 8. I was into the madness so deeply that I began teaching myself html basics just so my page was REALLY mine. People began asking for your Myspace link instead of your phone number, because we all knew that's what we'd be doing after school anyways. Besides, only a few of us even owned cell phones- and they didn't do anything other than call or text.

And then came Facebook.

And Twitter.

And Tumblr.

And Instagram.

And with the advent of the smart phone we were suddenly all connected 24/7

Everyone can now conveniently be social from the comfort of their own home. No human interaction required. You don't even have to text anyone- a Facebook message or if I @ someone in a tweet they're just as likely to see it. 

A few weeks ago I realized something. I had been feeling rather down and isolated and left-out. It seemed like I wasn't important, I was drifting away from certain people, they all seemed to be having fun without me. And that sucked. Majorly. I kept seeing tweets and Facebook statuses that didn't involve me, and it felt like a personal attack... I was upset and angry and then...

I stepped back. I realized

"Hey, none of this has ANYTHING to do with you! If you aren't involved it's because you're busy staring at a screen wishing you were involved instead of going out and changing things."

So I signed off.

For a whole 24 hours I didn't check my Facebook or Twitter or Tumblr accounts. I even removed the icon shortcuts from the home-screen on my phone. I spent the day with my boyfriend and his family and our friends. I enjoyed the rain and took a nap. I read some chapters of a book. I watched a crappy movie and laughed and drank and smiled at a party. And I felt more connected than I had in weeks.

When I logged back into everything I sort-of anticipated LOADS of notifications.

Turns out I didn't miss much. Nothing too thrilling had happened.

I know this isn't anything shocking or new for anyone. We've all been told that social media distorts our realities. But I think sometimes we need a reminder. Sometimes when someone tells you "Oh, I don't have a facebook/instagram/twitter" instead of expressing shock, you can maybe take a page from their book. I'm not saying delete your profiles and log-off for good, but taking a day or two to unplug is definitely worth a shot. I'm planning on trying it at least once a week- I think my overall mental health needs it.

and I think maybe the world can do with a few less #hashtags.