I sometimes forget I have social media. I scroll through Facebook to keep up with family and friends and to see random memes that make me laugh. I use TikTok like it is my lifeline, but I don’t post anything on it anymore. I used to share poetry videos. I would love to do that again.

Social media freaks me out sometimes. You start sharing little details about your life, and everyone feels obligated to know everything about it—all because you shared one little thing.

My dad used to fuss at me about sharing everything on Facebook. I was one of those people. I shared small things like…I had a headache, I was tired, I was going to bed, and I woke up. You could probably stalk the life out of me by watching my Facebook account.

Social media has gone from being useful to becoming a hindrance. It used to be how you could connect with like minded people from all over the world, and while that is still the case, it works more as a way to connect with everyone. I have seen people sitting beside each other and messaging to each other on their phones. Instead of sticking up a conversation with someone in a waiting room, we are now looking at our phones to avoid conversating with strangers. We go online to talk to strangers instead of talking to the stranger sitting in front of us.

Social media has deminished the human experience. So many people are now so comfortable sitting in front of a computer screen they see no need to get out into the world. I have been trying to train my puppy to be a better dog, more obident, so that I can take her into the wild. So I can take her with me to meet new people, because I am tired of only existing behind a computer screen.

Now I try to use social media as a way to connect with people in real life. I look for events for things I like and hope I meet new people at them. I feel like with the world at our fingertips, it is our responsibility to notice the world in front of our face, the world happening in our front yard, not across the ocean.

I miss the days of seeing the people walking around me.