As a person born in 2004, I grew up surrounded by the internet, which means I witnessed in real time the boom of social media. I saw the way it slowly took over our lives, shifting and adapting to be who and what we needed every second of every day. It sucked us up into a tornado of feeds, For You pages, and soul-sucking algorithms until they controlled every aspect of who we are as people.
I allowed myself to be sucked into the algorithmic lifestyle that was being spoon-fed to me by the peer pressure of society until I could pretty much only communicate through Snapchat exclusively, and texting was only for work and my parents.
I found that, growing up with apps like Myspace, YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram, and Snapchat, true human connection took the back burner. The growing media boom continued to bring stronger algorithms until it hit an all-time high in 2020 with the global pandemic.
When COVID hit, all people really had was social media. It was the fastest place to get information about what was going on, to feel connected, and to learn new hobbies. It was something to reach out and grab onto in a time of panic and unease.
Even on the other side of the pandemic, people are still flooding the sites at insanely high rates. Absolutely everything is online now, from stores to banking to fast food. Large stores like Walmart and Target are closing all of the main checkout lanes in favor of self-checkout.
We’re turning into a society where, when you want things, you get them in 1-2 business days with Amazon Prime.
I took a very much needed step back from social media. I took off the rose-colored glasses I wore constantly that told me “Social media is the norm now” and “I’m just going to spend a few minutes on TikTok, and then I’ll go to bed.”
Putting a time limit on how much social media I allow myself to access has truly opened my eyes to how much I crave true human connection and friendships.
It feels like being a lone tree, standing, fighting, and even begging to stay upright in the face of a ceaseless tornado of social media and technology that are fighting desperately to regain control of me, trying to take me back into the land of algorithms and me trying to come out the other side with my mind intact.
Social media is a parasite. It’s unfortunate that I didn’t believe my parents when they told me because that parasite rotted my brain until I couldn’t take the toxicity of being online anymore.
But I finally ripped off the glasses and saw the world for all the colors it offers.