Dear Social Media,
I wish I could say it’s been awhile, but it probably hasn’t. We’ve been together for more than decade now! It was 2010, I was 15, we finally had high speed internet in the house, that’s when it happened. Social media, you really were the catalyst to putting my online friends from forums and my neighborhood friends in one place. Then, our relationship so quickly got to the next level…you got in my pants….pockets! When the smart came along, you got we got to travel the world together and see so many awesome places and meet wonderful people.
You really are a significant part of my story; and I am so glad that you will be there for me when I need to connect with all my friends scattered around the globe. But we need to make some changes to our relationship. Some things are just not working any longer. I have lost the joy of taking photography for the sheer beauty and art of it; I have tarnished the art and now I have the urge to take a picture of everything in fear that if I don’t I might forget about the moment. Not even that, I’m not even taking artful shots; I’m taking 539 pictures of the same thing. I fear that sometimes the things I do are because I see other people on these platforms doing them, and that I’m not acting on my own volition. Having control over someone is not healthy in a relationship. And the most distributing thing to me is you have almost become a part time job, based on the hours daily spent scrolling. Keeping tabs with people, who frankly I haven’t interacted with since I was in high school. How is spending hours daily looking into the lives of others beneficial to me and my life? It’s not, life is meant to be lived, not watched.
While growing up, you were one of the few things that has stood the test of time. I deeply appreciate how you’ve allowed me to stay in touch with so many of the amazing people that I’ve met throughout my life so far. While it might be sad to say, I’m connected with some family more through social media than I have in real life. Social media, you really solved the answer to many peoples dilemmas, which is wanting to keep in touch with our loved ones while either the distance, time, or something else keeps us away from them. And this year alone, dang, we’ve spent a lot of time together…maybe too much.
What started as a tool for connection, I really started to use to fill a void. Sure, fine, let’s chalk it up to me moving to a new city, that isn’t even known for being friendly, in a time where we were told to disconnect from one another and isolate, while our society finds a solution for the pandemic; for me starting a new job remotely and having no physical human interaction, nor having no will power to want to get outside when somehow your new city is even more colder than the snow globe village 10,000 feet above sea level tucked inside the mountains of Colorado ever was. Whatever. I’m cutting out the BS. These are excuses that I am not longer holding valid.
I do not have time to commit to a relationship with you right now social media; I need to invest in my immediate surroundings; I can no longer be a kind observer and supporter of all my “friends” on my phone living their best lives without me living mine. So, for now, this is goodbye. We’re breaking up. Maybe we’ll meet again, but when we do, the terms will be different, and better, for both of us. I can’t say I wish the best for you, but I wish the best for those who are using it, that they find authenticity throughout all the filters and angles and illusions.
Yours truly,
Ross