You have to start somewhere

Before taking the course EGL 303 I thought I knew all I needed to know about social media, but boy was I wrong. There is so much more I needed to know to understand the effects social media can have on a person. This semester the most interesting thing about social media that I gained insight on is what negative impacts it can have on us. Between all of the stories and articles I read about social media it really shifted my thinking on it. I have come across way more negative results when using social media on a daily basis. Studies showed an increase in depression, anxiety, suicide and the feeling of loneliness rise while using social media. I was not expecting to be getting this much negative feedback from something I used to use constantly in my everyday life. It was very interesting for me to learn that people who use social media more often are more likely to be unhappy then those who devote less time on it. Before taking this class that would never have been my guess. Today on social media I see everyone posting about their lives and how happy they are and as if nothing was wrong. But as I have been learning this may not be the case. I take social media as a place for attention when people need it the most. You can truly never believe what you see on social media these days. Somebody can seem so happy and content with life but in reality can be the complete opposite. I find all of these things about social media so interesting because knowing this I want to know more and change the way I use social media. This class and the knowledge I have gained has totally taken a 360 effect on how I use it in my life. Since week 11 I decided to completely erase social media and see what would happen. Honestly, I don’t even care or notice that I deleted it. Deleting it has impacted my life in a positive way. I have so much more free time and find myself being more present in life in general. As I move forward I hope to keep this going and acknowledge the positive affects I gain from deleting it.