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Alodia Faytaren
Hedgepeth
AP Eng 4
18 Sep 2015
To this day, deleting my Twitter account was one of the greatest decisions I have made.
Freeing myself from the virtual chains of tweets and retweets lifted the detrimental effects of
social media that I had imposed on myself. A place where such concentrated negativity thrives
should never be a place where countless hours are spent. There is more to life than words and
pictures on a pixelated screen.
Social media is overrunning the world. Despite encompassing the word social within
itself, interfaces such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat are adverse in their
tendency to further isolate individuals. Rather than opening doors for legitimate social
interactions with exchanges of words and laughter, these moments are replaced with meaningless
emoticons and an empty simulation of a laugh with the use of a mere three characters. Social
media has hindered the social skills of those in my generation. More and more of my peers fear
interaction with unfamiliar people, an important skill that all individuals must have to be
successful in our lives stretched ahead of us. Though comfortable chatting in threads and leaving
comments on pages, they remain wordless in the happenings of reality where it counts most.
Many individuals suffer from low self-esteem due to the images that fill their
consciousness from social platforms. Already enduring such a vulnerable stage in life, those of
my age do not need the constant comparisons that we visualize between ourselves and those we
deem more successful, whatever aspect it may be. A truly happy person is not one that constantly
compares themselves to others; however, staring at pixelated screens of flawless faces and

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hourglass figures, many find it unbearable to glance at a reflection of acne spots and a less than
perfect physique. Just when a teen admires a picture they have taken, a selfie of another
accompanied by hundreds of likes is enough to tear that self-confidence to shreds. True
satisfaction of self is hard enough to attain; satisfaction of self in harmony with the ever-present
pressure of society to conform is impossible.
Social medias biggest downfall is the birth of cyber bullying. This is due to the
anonymous manner in which it can be done. The ability to remain faceless allows those with
their own struggles to impose their sadness and anger into causing anothers suffering. Because
these oppressors are not castigated for their malevolent actions, they remain apathetic towards
the lives they have distressed. This matter returns to the desire of acceptance that is instilled in us
all by human nature. Just as online attackers remain faceless, so do the people absorbed by the
idea of perfection that circulates throughout the internet. In an effort to be accepted and liked,
they conform to this gilded concept that eliminates all traces of individuality and molds them
into the rest: a contorted form of their genuine self.
I will never understand why a simple thought, such as a craving for a certain food, must
be broadcasted to the people of the world. My teacher in middle school once shared his
confusion when his son kept texting him updates of every action he was partaking in throughout
his day. Deacon Carl was baffled by the detail in which text conversations were relayed, as
though every act such as eating and drinking are significant enough to be announced. He was
accustomed to the days where technology was only used in times of necessity, not for shallow
notifications. Such thoughts, along with incessant complaints, are at the core of Twitters
existence. It is the surface where the term first world problems is most evident. Users complain
and protest about miniscule issues that require simple solutions while disregarding the bigger

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conflicts in life that must be attended to. Imprisoned in their two-dimensional world, pervading
problems of reality is demoted to second in their list of priorities. Unaware of their condition,
these individuals become more and more entangled in the thread of the world wide web. With
their perceptions hindered by the haze surrounding social media, they are further enamored by its
allurement and do not attempt to escape. Destitute of a clearer view and an open mind, they may
never detach from this self-sustained trance.