Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, the list goes on and on. In a matter of years, social media has taken over our every day lives. It is hard to imagine our daily routines without checking social media every few hours.

How did we ever survive without reading on social media what that obscure person you met at a party that one time is doing this exact moment? Seems crazy, right?  Just think, people actually formed relationships without social media without checking somebody’s online web presence the day after meeting them to see if they seem to “normal”, or without thinking “OMG, I only got 105 likes on my Instagram, I have to delete it.”.Since when did likes become validation? More importantly, how did people become so vain?

If you think about it, social media is one of the most self-serving behaviors humans engage in. What is worse than posting pictures, indirectly bragging about the awesome vacation you went on, or the great time you had out with your friends, or the AMAZING new shoes you got for Christmas? Let’s be real. Nobody cares about what you got for Christmas.

But how did it become so routine for people to start bragging over the internet? And don’t even get me started about selfies. This is the ultimate social media sin. Obviously, a problem of either low self-esteem or narcissism comes into play with all the selfies. Maybe it would be better to go outside and actually socialize than stay in a confined space and take pictures of oneself!

Alright, enough complaining on my part, now it’s time to tell you the facts. Of course, there are pros to social media. Even I will admit that. As a participant in the social media world, I agree that it does facilitate communication and help keep in touch with people that you may not see on a regular basis.

Also, I will admit that I have committed some of these social media sins. It is hard not to in today’s culture.

Yet, most of the things we do on Facebook are not meaningful. I’m sorry, but I just don’t care what the girl I played on a soccer team in fourth grade that I vaguely remember and doubt even knows my name did last night.

I find myself frequently going on unfriending sprees, or more commonly, hiding “friends” from my news feed. This way, I can keep someone around, just in case I might need to contact you; yet, I don’t need to see your constant stupid updates.

Social media has become somewhat of an addiction. People have become addicted to likes, comments, and new followers. We all know that sense of pride that comes with likes, and that sense of disappointment when we see that we didn’t get as many as the person below us in the feed.

Writing this down, it is clear that these feelings we experience are so stupid! Just because somebody doesn’t press a button on the screen doesn’t mean that you are inadequate! Stop feeling like you need to impress everyone and go out and live your life! Stop taking pictures just so you can update your Instagram or your Twitter.

Since when did we start caring about what our lives look like to others instead of how we feel while living them?

There are a lot of things in life that can make any of us unhappy. One of these things is social media. Let’s say that you decided to stay in one Friday night, and you had a great night at home. You caught up on your favorite television show and just relaxed. You feel content — until, that is, you check your social media.  You see that some of your online “friends” went to an amazing party based on all the pictures. But really, was the party THAT amazing — if they spent the entire time taking pictures, probably not.

There are two types of people. People who enjoy their lives, and people who take pictures of it at every possible second. What happened to just enjoying a sunset and trusting your memory to record it?

We have all heard that employers, teachers, and parents check social media. More importantly, they check YOUR social media. Do you really want a person in authority to see a picture of you in a low cut top with a bunch of kissing emojis? How about your Grandmother seeing your photos? How about a college admissions officer? If that thought makes you cringe, maybe you should be more careful about what you post online.

Whenever something is posted, it can never be deleted. Not even if you delete it. Snapchats are leaked all the time by hackers. Not even those pictures ever go away.  You do know those photographs, cute and embarrassing, are kept in a database, right?

Also, stop using social media to try and change the world. Just because you share a Buzzfeed article does not make you a humanitarian or an expert in that subject. I applaud you for trying to get the word out there. That is totally okay. But if you just post about it on Facebook or Twitter and don’t actually do anything about it, what is the point? It’s all talk, no action.

Online is no substitute for offline relationships. In this day and age, it is a very real fear of mine that people will forget how to converse in real life. If you spend enough time on social media, you know the net lingo, LOL, LMFAO, BTW, emojis. Sure, these are efficient ways to reduce typing speed, but there is no reason to use them in real life conversation. If you say “LOL,” you realize you aren’t actually laughing out loud, right? Smh.