In a world where everything we do is posted online, we run the risk of missing out on some of the most meaningful moments of our lives.
Nowadays, we document everything online. People post pictures online, they brag about what they have or what they’ve done, and even rant about family and friends. We live in an age of social presence, where people feel as if the larger their following, the more extraordinary their lives are.
Humans are social creatures. Even the most anti-social of us crave attention and validation from those around us. And when we can’t find it, we reach out to try and get it from strangers; people we may never meet outside of our computer screens. This is what many people use social media for, intentionally or not. They let strangers follow them, allowing them a peek into their lives, hoping they will like what they’re doing enough to give it a “like” or repost it. Many even delete posts that don’t reach the amount of attention they believe it deserves.
The problem with all of this, however, is that in wanting to get that perfect picture to post, in worrying about what your followers think or if something is ‘worthy’ to post, we run the possibility of overlooking the important moments in our lives.
For example, consider a parent is at their child’s birthday party, and all throughout the party, they are taking pictures and recording every cute moment they see. They want to record everything so that they can post it online and so they can have a physical memory in the future. However while they are doing this, they aren’t actually spending time with their child, they aren’t enjoying the time they have while they are so young.
Social media has taken over many people’s lives. People force their kids to stop and pose for photos, missing out on spending actual time with them, or even pretend as if they’ve done something to get an online reaction. People are so focused on getting cute photos during hangouts, that they don’t honestly spend any time or interact with their friends.
The world is full of so many incredible people and places, yet because of social media, we rarely appreciate them as much as we should. With our eyes so focused on the screen, we forget to look up and enjoy the world and people around us.