{ why social media can be toxic }

This has the potential of being one of the most raw blogs I've ever written but prepare yourself because I have a lot to say & some people would say its a touchy subject -

Social Media  //
Social media is hard. How many likes am I gonna get on this picture? Are people gonna like this selfie? Why is he hanging out with her? Are they a thing? Why hasn't this person liked my last post? So many things that bring doubt or insecure thoughts into a persons mind. I cant remember the last time I was off Instagram for longer than a week. Its consumes so much of a persons day, takes up your time, and can keep you from doing other things that need to come before it. It distracts you from time spent with friends & family. It makes you worry about things that don't need to be worried or stressed over. Its just an app that should be harmless & fun & creative. Now I'm not hating on Instagram, don't get me wrong I LOVE editing pics, getting feedback on them, and seeing my friends posts. Its just a lot of doubt starts to creep into my mind & can overwhelm me. Some people can handle that stuff, but some people are unfortunate and cant.

I think its healthy to take a break every once in awhile. Check out from the internet world & focus on the real one ya know? Use that time you spent stalking your crush (we've all done it) and hang out with friends. Connect with new people < that was one of my new years resolutions in one of my recent blogs & not to toot my own horn, but I think I'm actually doing a pretty decent job -

A week ago I went to go get coffee and practice calligraphy with a friend I've known for awhile but only through social media. So granted, social media does help in this case BUT when we hung out our noses weren't in our phones. We talked about blogging, boys, & our lives basically. Then a few days ago I met a new friend that I hadn't seen in years and we went and saw "The Fifth Wave" (WHICH IS SO GOOD, GO SEE IT). So all in all, I connected with new people and that'd be a difficult thing to do if I am always plugged in to my phone.

It's another story if social media is your job, such as a youtuber, but I still don't think that's any excuse to be on it every second of the day. I'm a fan of youtubers and youtube in general. I "fangirl" over a lot of them when the topic comes up & I enjoy watching their videos, but the sad thing is, I see a lot of them make videos on depression, anxiety, & some on their hate comments. Its hard to believe that something that's supposed to be so harmless can hurt a person so much. I just hope that whoever is struggling with any kind of social media will take a step back & think "hey maybe this is the thing causing the problem".

I'm tired of having my phone in my face 24/7 & seeing others do the same. All it's really doing is creating jealousy. You're jealous of that girls hair, her clothes, or even how she lives her life. Use that time you spend obsessing over others, doing something you love. Something that will lift you up, not tear you down. Taking hours out of your day to look through girls selfies who you THINK are prettier than you is not healthy, and don't cha worry, I'm guilty of it too. If I'm being honest I spend way too much time "checking up" on people, who could care less about me. It kinda hit me, why am I giving this person so much of my time? & I'm SO happy I came to this realization.

So for all you fellow social media lovers, I encourage you to put down the phone every once in awhile. Focus on other things that constantly get shoved out of the way because you're too worried about posting the right selfie or you're waiting for that "one" person to like your picture. Thanks to all of you who took the time to read this & I hope ya see where I'm coming from :-)

See ya later dudesss.