A couple of week ago, an insta-famous teenager decided to "quit" social media to due its pressures for an unattainable perfect life. (Read More Here)

Before all this unfolded, I was already going through something within myself. I was definitely struggling to find the balance and afraid of "too much" social media. With Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, (respectively listed from what I use least to most) there's no way I can keep up. And quite frankly, I don't even understand this internal "need" to be current with what everyone you literally know is doing at this current time. With Instagram & Tumblr, I use to scroll until the pictures I saw were already familiar. I justified myself to thinking, "Oh, I'm just making sure I'm keeping up with all of my friends." But now that I think about it, that's kind of crazy! Especially because there's no way you can keep up with your 592 (or more) friends.

Here's some of my thoughts on social media:

(Warning: it's pretty negative, but I need to rant & bring it to light so that it's known. I've some point in time have fallen guilty of it so I need to put it out there so I'm aware, and maybe someone else can be too.)

• Social media, specifically Instagram, has become diluted, and for lack of better word, filtered. Most people only post about their ups in life, their highs but not lows. Of course, people only post what they want out there. But the thing is... what's out there can be MUCH different from actual life. In the end, it's all not real.
• Social media has become, in some sense, artificial happiness. How did likes turn become some odd sense of validation? How did followers turn into a direct reflection of one's value? How does joy connect to the number of times people touch the heart button under your photograph? I just don't understand. And yet, ...I'm a part of it all. I've succumb to these so-called norms and have definitely had those thoughts.
• Lastly, social media has taken away our ability to become social. When we're out to dinner with friends, we can get so caught up in documenting the experience that we're not living the experience. Now, there's people who balance this well, but for the most of us, if we're actually real with ourselves, we don't do this well. 

So there you have it. Now, I'm not saying boycott social media and everything you post is just simply fake. But just... be careful. Be yourself. Don't lose you and your true connections with the people you love all for the sake of something that exists on the internet and on your mobile device.

If you're a foodie (like me!) then snap & shoot your food, then put your phone away. (As they say, everything in moderation right?) Hold the scrolling until you're alone in boredom. Take selfies and be proud of your makeup glam or all natural face, but maybe skip sending ten-second hair flipping, blue steel giving selfie videos? or at least limit it to five. haha. :) And just a rule of thumb, if there's a person you know (or maybe not know), next to or in front of you... look up and have a conversation. And maybe it'll grow from small talk & surface chatter to a deep and incredibly open friendship. Speaking from experience, the people you know (or think you know) may still surprise you.

Do you agree with me? Or you think I'm out of my mind? Or even better, hypocritical to the max? Well, leave a comment below! OR... let's a have an actual conversation about it over coffee & macarons, or if we're not near, let's FaceTime! I'll even settle for texting back and forth. Why? Because it's an actual interaction with an actual person, not a blast post to the masses. So do you agree or disagree? Reach out & surprise me. :)

-Gardenia Rose