As a society, we are using social media more than we ever have before. It's on our computers and on our phones. In fact, we are probably spending more time with it than most of our friends. But what if we considered social media to be one of our friends and the emotional impact it might have on us?
These days, you're not even sure why you and Twitter became friends in the first place. You were probably just curious about her and wanted to get to know her better. She did allow you to feel a little closer to your favorite celebrities and give you real-time access to events in the news. She also allowed you to speak your mind, but preferred if it was in her #language. (Rest in peace, pound sign.) Sometimes, she just rambles on about pointless things. But sometimes, she also tells you important information. Maybe that's why you've kept her around so long.
You became friends with Pinterest because you needed some new ideas and she seemed to have a lot of good suggestions. In the beginning of your relationship, she did give you a lot of suggestions that have been helpful, but lately, she's been getting on your nerves. Her craft projects, her hairstyles and her recipes are always better than yours. It would be one thing if she told you how difficult it was to create these wonderful masterpieces, but instead she always says it 'easy' and 'simple' to produce these creations.
You feel a bit inferior when compared to her. Actually, you feel drastically inferior to her. She reminds you of places you've never been, the cookies that you haven't baked yet and clothing trends you just don't have enough money to try. She really doesn't tell you anything that you need to know, but just constantly reminds you of what you still need to do.
When you first met Instagram, you thought she'd be a good friend. Her intentions seemed well-meaning. She provided you an opportunity to work on your photography skills. You could add pretty filters to your photos. But then she showed you everyone else's photos and videos. You saw pictures of their vacations, their sunsets in the backyard, their workouts, their spouses, their babies and their five-course meal on Friday night. Along with the help of filters, it looks pretty awesome. Everything Instagram shows you looks awesome.
Now you need to show her how awesome you really are. You carefully consider each filter that highlights your best features or makes your sunset look just the perfect shade of orange. You still appreciate your relationship with Instagram, but frankly, you're a little exhausted from trying to always prove to her just how awesome you are.
If you're like many early thirty/late twenty-somethings, then Facebook may have been your first social media friend. (Rest in peace, MySpace.) At first, she made it seem like you were the member of an exclusive society. Facebook drew you in and soon, you could connect with your college classmates, those guys you met on spring break and that cute guy that you meet at a party last week.
But then, a few years later, Facebook decided you weren't good enough and wanted more friends. She invited your parents, your boss and your co-workers to join. Then she showed them all your college antics and photos. You couldn't hit the delete button fast enough when those new friend requests showed up on your page.
As if exposing your college frolics weren't bad enough, then she starting stalking you. She noticed the dining room table you loved at your favorite online furniture store. She also saw the vacation reviews you read on an online forum. Now, you get constant emails from retailers and vacation booking websites. What a sellout. You only wish you would have seen this coming. But you've been friends for so long you're not sure how to end your relationship. Maybe now is the perfect time.