want to live and not let them think that dying would be better. Help them know that you
are there.
An elderly teenager’s view of social media
by Jay Dykes
I’ve used social media a lot in my life. In fact, it seems that today, I just can’t get
away from it. It’s almost become an obligation of sorts. There are invitations to events
that require you to RSVP through Facebook, wedding announcements that are only
released by email, and even life events of friends that I would have been entirely
oblivious to had I not opened up my Facebook feed.
Something about it doesn’t really seem right to me, just the fact that no one
would even care to give me a call or so much as a text
message when they do something. Instead, it seems
that they just throw it out on the internet, expecting
that if I haven't seen it, then it’s my fault for not
looking. Things used to be different. Before the
internet, in order to tell people about something, you
had to put in a great deal of effort. You had to pick up
the phone and talk to them, and God forbid they ask
about other things or get into a conversation with you. For God’s sake, you might end up
interacting with your grandparents!
I think that the ability to let everybody know something with just a couple of
clicks has really lowered the bar for things worth telling people. Ten years ago if you
wanted to tell everyone something, then it had better be pretty important, or no one
would have ever given you the time of day. Nowadays with us all absentmindedly
scrolling through our Facebooks, anything can be interesting. Sometimes it’s nice to
know a lot about your friends and family; however, in most cases, it’s just too much to
care about. I used to love going to family reunions because you could hear new things
about people. There was a time when everyone could meet up and brag about whatever
exciting things had happened. After Facebook, however, they just became a fruitless
exercise in lying to make your life sound more interesting, all the while gossiping about
whatever your great aunt did three months ago.
Maybe some day they’ll start to notice that while they were staring down at their
phones the world has changed. Maybe then they’ll leave their phones at home and go
outside for once. They might even talk to a neighbor, old friend or colleague. I guess it’s
all wishful thinking, though. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go back to refreshing
my Twitter feed.