As of December 2015, 73% of all Americans have a social media account with 89% being under the age of 30. Social media is bringing a new age to human interaction: people are at all times able to reach one another. Unfortunately, it has had a negative effect on the human race.

The main concern regarding social media is the general need to post, rather than to live in the now. People are constantly trying to make their photos look better through filters or through photo edits to make the photos more appealing to others. People post their pictures because they try to get more likes than each other and treat it as some digital social status. When on vacation, focus on the time spent there rather than the pictures that are taken. Pictures are a good means of sparking memories later on but they should never be the primary focus.

Smartphones are dominating people’s free time as well. It has been shown that on average Americans spend about a third of their day, or 4.7 hours a day on their phones. Senior J.T. Lund comments on this, “My phone is usually dead by 6th period because I listen to music pretty much the whole day.”

This time, if spent productively would result in a massive increase in intelligence. An easy way to combat this urge is to pick up a book and place your phone somewhere where you wont be tempted to go on it. Spending the valuable free time we have productively is what is most important, not focusing on the funny pictures somebody posted on Instagram.

Smartphones have also instilled a reliance on technology that makes humans incapable of basic functions without them. A car goes crashing off of State Road 64 and people are injured. But what if there aren’t any phones present? In modern society nobody would know what to do and how to help someone who may be hurt. Without phones people freeze up and don’t know how to handle themselves. In order to make sure this wont happen to you, I would make sure that you know how to handle yourself without your phone.

Many people may think that social media brings about new friendships and strengthens old ones. However, through personal experience this has shown to be far from true. I have been lucky enough to experience trips to camp in California and to the Dominican Republic where phones aren’t allowed. In both cases, the bonds forged with the people there have been much stronger and much more enjoyable than any experiences where people are able to shut themselves out by going on their phones. Although social media does introduce you to new people, friendships don’t have the same longevity if face-to-face interaction isn’t experienced. Unfortunately for most people this isn’t a means of closing other people out, rather looking at your phone has become a nervous habit that distracts people from the social pressures of social interaction. At camp and in the Dominican Republic, people are forced to put themselves out there and are forced to talk with others. In everyday life, when hanging out with friends, if everyone places their phones in one place, it will force you to interact with the people around you and will prove to be beneficial in the long run. Overtime, face-to-face interaction forges friendships that have much more longevity.

There are many ways to break against the societal norms listed above. Not allowing social media to dominate your life, experiencing life in the present, knowing how to live without phones, and cherishing time spent with people are all ways to do so. Although this will be hard to accomplish, the positive outcomes are endless and so makes it worthwhile.