As a people, we are addicted to technology. Whether it’s the smartphone in our pocket or the computer on our desk or anything else, it seems as if our connection to technology is almost a lifeline, necessary for our social survival. In conjunction with technology, social media is a very present medium that many of us take part in. This is no means for guilt, as a person who spends their day on Twitter is not necessarily any better or worse than a person who doesn’t. But no matter how you view technology and social media, one fact remains: social media’s flaws sometimes affect us negatively, and that’s something we need to talk about.

One of the biggest drawbacks to social media is that it’s quite superficial, and thereby provides difficulty to create real, personal relationships. While it is quite possible to make friends and meet people via social media, the majority of the time you pictures will be “liked” by people you don’t know and your tweets will be retweeted by humans you’ve never talked to before. According to Morgan Hampton, reporter for BYU’s The Daily Universe, “Relationships are essential; humans are social creatures. Human nature craves human interaction, and that interaction cannot be effectively replaced by technology.” The truth remains that social media doesn’t mimic real human interaction, and the end result is somewhat… empty.

Another issue with social media is the fact that it’s not real. Shocker, right? Social media thrives on the fact that the user determines what they show. With that power, the majority of users will only choose to highlight the best parts of their lives. No one cares about the average, everyday person going about their life, but they care a lot more about their friend’s vacation to Hawaii. We want to see people’s highlights, but we have a tendency to compare these highlights to our behind-the-scenes. We ask Why can’t I be as cool/attractive/successful as him/her? without considering the fact that this person also goes through the same struggles and difficulties that we do. Social media is cool because we get to show off the best parts of our lives, but it’s dangerous sometimes because we forget that other people do the same.

So what can we do about all of this? Truly, that’s a personal choice. Some people decide to abandon social media altogether, deleting themselves from the sphere these mediums provide. Some people simply don’t care about social media’s drawbacks and are perfectly content hiding behind a wall of funny memes. For me, I’d say the right way to go is to find somewhere in the middle. A careful balance, as with anything in life, is bound to be the best way to go. My advice is to carry on your social media, but carefully. Keep posting images to your Instagram. Keep laughing at funny Twitter jokes. Keep jealously snapchatting your friends while they’re on vacation. But remember to take a break every once in a while and breathe. In the words of Alexandra Tendler, writer for TheOddyseyOnline, ”[T]he next time you’re out with friends, or walking down the street, try to refrain from scrolling through your News Feed. Make the effort to socialize with the world around you, and become more familiar with people rather than profiles…. Instead of counting the number of likes, count the memories in your life, because, at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.” Remember to make each day count, even if you don’t think it’s good enough for your Instagram feed.

We live in a time where it’s sometimes hard to be without your cell phone. For some of us, our bits of technology are the crutches that allow us to get through awkward situations or avoid being uncomfortable in social settings. But in some cases, these supports actually hurt

There are few things I hate more than being called a “millennial”. I hate the assumptions and stereotypes that come with my generation, and I can’t stand the expectation that we’re just a bunch of kids glued to their cell phones, addicted to taking selfies and forever wasting our lives scrolling through our Twitter feeds. It’s so frustrating to be lumped into a classification of people that are just stuck in a social media world.