Gen Y, Social Media & Being 20

Thinking about life without social media tends to be eerie. Generation Y has grown up with it; it has sadly become a part of our everyday lives. I would be lying if I said I didn't check Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and my 3 email accounts on my phone before I even crawl out of bed each morning.

It's sad.

We, Generation Y, have become so accustom to living uh....socially without actually being social. We feel like it is necessary to ALWAYS be connected and if you are not, it can feel like something is wrong! I used to think my parents were crazy for not understanding how awesome it was to be connected to all of your friends at once with just a couple of clicks. But my parents were right (per usual), we're the crazy ones! Our privacy is completely gone. You can have a conversation with a complete stranger and not even know what they look or sound like....and we think that this is normal. It's not. It's creepy. It's cool. It's lonely.

Just imagine what it would be like without all of these social media platforms. Being 20 years old and unplugged from social media might mean that you could actually meet some really awesome people around you; people that we don't talk to because we are so connected to that damn freakishly small handheld computer...


Now to the point.....

Social media has caused a problem for Gen Y. We ALWAYS want to be talking to someone and for someone to be giving us some sort of attention. I mean connecting with people is so extremely easy, right? I have this problem myself (obviously since I'm writing about it). I never give myself time to reflect on social situations.

This hurts relationships on all different kinds of levels, from new friendships to maybe even the person you are seeing. There never seems to be a moment when one is completely alone, because we will always have our phones, computers, iPads, etc... All of the technology and social media make us feel like we need to be connected to each other at all times...and it is horrible. It has the complete ability to make one anxious. It causes rips and tears in relationships that most likely would have never been there if it weren't for social media and the level of technology we have been "blessed with."

The social media generation, Gen Y, needs to start giving themselves time to think away from all of the screens. The people and the relationships that matter are NOT going to be the ones that thrive off of social media and technology. The relationships that matter the most are with the people that give you the time of day and share the "gift" of face-to-face communication. The virtual conversations that Gen Y puts themselves in will come and they will fade quickly, but the quality time spent with others will not.

Gen Y has a lot of work to do... Get away from all the hustle and bustle of social media. No matter what anyone says, we all know that we "creep" on who is communicating with who and it can become a slight competition to have the best virtual relationship with someone. I mean come on, it's no secret that everyone checks out people's top 3 friends on Snapchat.      

Get off the constant texting, social media and other crazy technology and get out and have real conversations with people. Those are the relationships that will stick and matter in the long run...not the texting fling you have for a month or two in the virtual world.