Today’s topic was gratitude for something you use everyday, so I decided to be a millennial and write about social media. I know people of all ages get so much flack for being on the internet all the time – and there is some merit to that – but there are so many positive things about social media that I think get overlooked when it’s being harped on.
Because of my time at Disney I have friends all across the country who I never get to see. So, once a day (or more, let’s be real), I get on Twitter and Facebook to see what all my long distance friends are up to. I can’t even imagine what my life would be like if I could never get to see the things that were going on in all of these beautiful people’s lives. It brings me so much joy to see what stories my friends at the Emporium or at ACU are telling on Twitter, or how exciting it is when I get to have a conversation over a tweet with someone I wouldn’t normally talk to. I love that I get to see the ups and downs of other people’s lives; that I get to celebrate their engagement or graduation, or that I get to cry and pray with them when they hit a rough patch. I love that I can text whoever I want, whenever I want, and get an update on their life. I love that I have a network of people who love me spanning the country.
Social media also lets me feel like I’m there with people in person. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve watched people’s Snap Stories just because I knew that they were at Disney and might record the firework show, or because I knew they were doing something I loved and I wanted to be part of it. I love that I can use Snapchat to see the beautiful faces of my friends who I haven’t seen in months, and have full blown conversations using ridiculous filters, and catch up using more than just a text or a tweet. I love that social media has made the world a smaller place. This has especially become important to me now that I’ve graduated college. I never thought I would miss it as much as I do. I miss my social club. I miss my friends. I miss my little. I miss praise day. I miss the cats. But I love that I can still experience these things from a distance.
So yes, millennial’s shouldn’t be on our phones all the time. There is so much merit to being fully present when you’re with someone, and having an actual conversation. Texting, Snapchat, and Twitter should never replace that. However, it is fully okay to embrace the world of technology we live in today and use it for it’s full potential.
So Snapchat life’s funny moments. Tweet when something ridiculous happens to you. Take a selfie for Instagram when you’re having a grand old time. One day you’ll look back, and those posts will be the digital scrapbook of your life. And I for one, and grateful for that.
The following is a list of times Social Media became the scrapbook of my very exciting life, and I was grateful to have it around.
- When my other best friend and I managed to get a 100 day streak (it’s a big deal)
