The Dawn Of Social Media

“I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.”

Words by the brilliant physicist of all time, Albert Einstein.

Suffice to say, I believe those words deem to be true for that day has finally arrived.

Today in the 21st century,

We welcome a new world of information and technology,

As we see the rise of the digital world, and the invention of laptops and smartphones,

Making it possible for information to be readily accessible at the end of our fingertips.

The creation of new apps are blooming,

And the use of social media has become part and parcel of our lives,

As it becomes for us a medium of communication with those near and far.

Social media has brought little sparks of joy into our lives,

Prying into someone else’s lives as we scroll through the feeds,

And feeling that little surge of dopamine when we receive a notification.

However, there are downsides to this, as well.

It’s perplexing to see how the social media is misused,

As it becomes a platform to degrade one another,

Hate remarks and criticism on the comment section is appalling.

Social media, which once was thought to be a source to ‘connect’,

Has instead, ironically, only further ‘disconnect’ us from one another,

As we turn into silence at the dinner table,

With squinting eyes and heads dug deep into our screens,

Thumbs scrolling and scrolling through the feed purposelessly,

That we forget the person in front of us.

Every day, we are bombarded daily with images of pretentious lives,

Portraying only the good side of things,

At the same time, trying to preserve the façade of  a flawless life.

We become misled by what society think is ‘normal’,

As we try to fit into that label and want to be accepted,

But we become broken when we look into the mirror,

Not seeing the person we wish we were.

Why don’t we take a step back for a moment,

Put away our gadgets,

And think about what truly matters to us?

Why don’t we use the time instead,

To find ourselves, to grow and help others do the same,

And ask ourselves these questions:

What are our values? What are our goals? What is our mission?

We are all soldiering on in this world,

Trying to find the meaning of life.

Be kind always, for everyone is fighting a battle you know not of,

For a little bit of kindness goes a long way.

Stop the hatred and angry remarks,

And propel change to make this world a better place.