The Positive and Negative of Social Media: It Is OK To Take A Step Away

Social media has been a staple of society since the time of its invention. Every child, teen and adult use some form of technology in every aspect of life.

Where once there was paper now there is a laptop.

Where there once was canvas and paint there is now an ipad.

Where once there was a book there is now an e-reader.

I could go on for years and we will be able to name so many more examples. Now do not get me wrong, I am grateful for the addition of technology in our lives. I have been able to connect with all of you on this amazing platform, write in a matter of an hour, and insert pictures for added effect for another 15 minutes.

There is an added benefit that we are able to have a system that corrects errors, makes our work able to be broadcast to whomever we see fit to view, as a means to connect with others, and of course make life more efficient.

But there are some downsides as well.

The whirlwind of information, entertainment, drama, and opinions are unrelenting in every feed. There is a not a day that goes by without something being said.

It can become overwhelming to the point of brain damage inducing.

There is just too much to catch up on, be in the know of, and before you know it you have wasted countless hours on information that does nothing to help you or anybody else that reads it.

Fluff. That is what a lot of social media has become. Fluff to fill in the gap in the void of silence. To be a distraction. To be a way to get attention.

It is all unhealthy!

We need to be able to say "STOP!" to all the madness when it gets too much.

I once did not have a phone while all of my other friends did. They would ask me why I did not have one and wasn't I upset.

"Of course not," I would answer with a shrug and bend down again to finish the good part in my book (you know the thing with a leather binding and pages that have words written on them).

I was not concerned with getting the latest apps, being able to take pictures, get likes, make stories, be the first on SnapChat.

I just never cared.

How I wish I could go back to those days. . .

I got a phone finally and the first app I got was Instagram. I had been sleeping over with an awesome girl friend of mine and she decided I was going to make my first picture.

"What should I do?" I asked hoping she had a great idea.

She shrugged her shoulders "It has to be something that represents you."

I didn't have much in the way of something that would represent me. I had never really thought about what made me special and unique. To my eyes and to many of the people in my class I could easily say that the description of me was 'plain.'

I decided that I cared about my friend, who she was, the quirkiness of our friendship, and the reality of who we were.

Then came the infamous SnapChat phase. This is one time in my life that I regret my existence on social media (not to say that I will probably say that of myself in the very near future).

I was just not built for an app that would have me make a short entertaining video with filters or an equally entertaining picture (me realizing that Tik Tok is just as similar). There was also a lot going on in my personal life and that app did not help matters at all.

Suffice to say I will never open this app up unless it is for some odd article or video idea, but very doubtful.

For a while after I rejected social media and became numb to the world. I think I must have missed a good four years of my life wallowing in self-pity, anger and bitterness.

When I finally did emerge from that toxic mindset I dived head first into yet another one (this time with the hope that I was wiser).

YouTube was the straw that broke the camel's back for this article. I had been watching short films along side taking a screenplay writing class. I was learning to appreciate the mediums a story can take. Not only this but was developing a love of cinematography.

Through those means I found a community of booklovers.

Being known as the school's bookworm, I thought it only fitting to check it out.

It was no coincidence that I had found my old scraps of poetry and started to create a collection.

I took it as a sign to continue down the path of life.

Thus began my journey to make a means of financial support for myself while writing what I wished to (Vocal and Medium), creating videos that would share a message (YouTube), and actually support me financially (Amazon)

On this journey I had many experiences involving learning what it took to start a YouTube channel, gaining the confidence to film my first video, find my niche, and getting into commentary as my final decision.

But then I got into an even bigger cesspool of drama and mess.

Though I cannot say that a part of me is happy I found it so that we can start to make steps to change. These conversations need to be had and we need to fix them.

However, sometimes the best healing comes form taking a break. A complete break.

Do what it is is you love to do and do not be bogged down by likes, comments and views. Allow yourself the freedom to just be.

It is always okay to take a step back from it all.