Sydney Gard

Social media is a big part of my life. I can’t help it; we’re told everyone around us is on social media too, and if we’re not we’re bound to be missing something exciting. This has created a fear of missing out (FOMO) that plagues teens.

I’ve been on both sides of the FOMO coin, as I’m sure many others have as well. It’s hard to watch people you consider your friends hang out without you, returning to school the next day with inside jokes that you aren’t a part of. It’s also hard to hear of someone feeling left out when you’re just trying to have fun. Basically, FOMO sucks.

Social media has created a generation of kids who can’t survive without constant communication, and I’m one of them. I find that if I’m sitting and doing nothing, my finger will sometimes stray to the Twitter app on my phone without my realizing it. I’ll scroll through Instagram, close it, and open it a few seconds later, forgetting I had literally just seen my friends’ photos. It’s a little disconcerting.

I don’t spend too many hours of my day on social media, but I admit that it’s more than it should be. I keep trying to convince myself that I don’t have an issue with social media. I mean, I could just delete my social media apps without a second thought, right?

Students walk through the hall with phones in hand, scroll through their feeds instead of talking at lunch and argue with peers on Twitter instead of communicating face to face. I’ve even seen people argue with teachers, which I doubt many would do without social media. Since all these sites are so new, we probably won’t know their full effects for years, but I don’t think they’ll be good.

So while it’s pretty hypocritical of me to say this, try to live in the moment, not worrying about what your friends are doing every second. Maybe even take a break from social media. I think I’ll do the same. And if you don’t take my advice, at least follow me on Twitter or Instagram instead.

Trenna Soderling

Typical students are tired of hearing that social media will be the downfall of our society. I get it. Social media is entertaining. I can’t count the number of times I’ve reached for my phone when I need a break for homework, when I feel disconnected, or when I want to see what others are doing.

Unfortunately, so many people see social media as a tool to use when they want to make others feel jealous or they want to feel better about themselves.

For these types of people, life is no longer about living to be happy, but living to make others unhappy, or at least dissatisfied. Want to prove to everyone you have a social life? Make sure to add that blurry selfie to your Snapchat story. Want to make your “bae’s” ex jealous? Post a picture on Instagram with him. Don’t like someone and disagree with their tweet? Start a fight.

It’s not that any of these actions themselves are bad. You should feel comfortable posting a cute selfie. You should be free to share a cute picture with the world. You should feel entitled to your opinion and be willing to stand up for it. But when these actions stem from malicious intent, the person you harm the most is yourself.

Sure, it sucks to feel isolated or out of the loop. But does keeping yourself trapped in your virtual world really rescue you from obscurity? When you trade the time you spend with friends and family in so you can make virtual connections, is it really fostering any of the real life relationships you brag about on your accounts? You may be surrounded by friends, but you’re still alone.

I’m not saying all of this to preach. I’m as guilty as everyone else when it comes getting lost in the virtual world. But when I do this I miss parts of stories people are excited about and I lose the personal connections people are making. Moments like this are the reason why we should challenge ourselves to be present in the moment, at least for a larger portion of the day.