Social media is commonly defined as a form of electronic communication through which users can make accounts to share content and communicate to each other. Applications like Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter are most popular within the teenage and young adult community, and the growth of social media within the past couple of years has left the majority of people questioning its true impact on society. Has it enhanced people’s lives and made us feel more connected, or has it actually disconnected us from the real world?

Media has hurt the way we connect with each other. Slowly, we have come to rely on our devices to help us interact and navigate our way throughout the world. For many, rather than using their brains first to solve their problems they immediately pull up google and search it.

In such a fast and changing world it’s inevitable that technology will advance with it. However, it has become overbearing and hurtful to users. The constant switches in social norms and trends have become unhealthy to most because in order for them to feel connected they access their profiles at all times of the day.

It’s important to manage the amount of time we spend on social media and the manner in which we use it. The correct use of these sites can help connect us with people that we may not have otherwise met, but it’s important to not get lost in the sauce. Building healthy relationships in person is way more important than any relationship within a screen.

Five friends out at lunch, occupied by their phones. (Photo Courtesy of Shutterstock).