Media madness: Why I’m ditching internet expectations

Our generation’s nonstop usage of our phones distracts us from what’s more important in life.

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by Maggie Knox, Editor-in-Chief

I thought I would be happy when I got 100 likes on an Instagram photo. I will admit it: it took me forever. It was a long and treacherous journey of follow-for-follows and “go like my Insta” texts. But when that number hit three digits, my need for others’ approval via social media did not end like I had thought it would. I thought I would be satisfied, but instead, I was already aware that the online society I was just getting accustomed to had already set a new standard: 200 likes.


 

Every day, it’s the same thing.

Wake up. Check Instagram. Check Facebook. Check Snapchat. Check Twitter. Repeat.

In a free, at lunch, at home, during dinner and in bed. Repeat.

 

Every post, it’s the same thing.

Wake up. Check likes. Check comments. Check screenshots. Check favorites. Check retweets. Repeat.

In a free, at lunch, at home, during dinner and in bed. Repeat.

 

Is there ever a time when we aren’t completely consumed in this eternal cycle of status updates and direct messages? In this constant and infinite series of posts, albums and videos, will there ever be a time to just… breathe?

We cannot let our lives pass right before us as we sit back idly, eyes glued to miniature screens and thumbs jumping from one tiny key to the next. Our lives are too vast. Our lives are too great. Our lives are too important to be condensed down into the diminutive world of this digital age.

I dream of the day when I am no longer gripped by the need to know how popular my post was, and instead, knowing what those posts mean to me and to me only.

I dream of the day when I am no longer paranoid about checking up on what other people are doing, and instead, putting my time into what I want to do for myself.

I dream of the day when I no longer have to collect information via the Internet, and instead, inquiring through spoken and (hand)written word.

And yet, continuing down into this fully-loaded abyss of expectations and judgment will only create more distance between me and my dreams, between us and our dreams. Why are we all so paranoid of the consequences of just pressing down on our lock buttons?


 

Every day, it could be the same thing.

Wake up. Rub your eyes. Don’t check your phone. Get out of bed. Open your window shade. Don’t check your phone. Get dressed. Brush your teeth. Don’t check your phone. Repeat.

In a free, at lunch, at home, during dinner and in bed. Repeat. Don’t check your phone.

Don’t check your phone. Don’t let it control you. And don’t you dare let your happiness be dictated by a triple-digit Instagram post.