In the last CES fireside, Elder Ballard noted that many people of this generation are spending too much time on social media websites. I believe social media in its self is not bad; in fact, it can be a great opportunity to share ideas and stay connected. But people are devoting too much of their time to it and thereby accomplishing nothing. It has come to a point where people will be together discussing something or other, but no one is paying attention to the topic because they’re all just looking at their cell phone screens, browsing through Facebook, and are not engaged in the real world around them. Social media was meant to make people more social, not less.
People need to spend less time on social media websites. They take time away from building relationships with people who are directly close by, and they waste it to spend time browsing through someone else’s photos to “get to know them.” The relationships formed through these sites are not as strong as those that are strengthened by spending time with one another. You can hardly call it a relationship when two people have never associated with each other beyond online chatting. People need to spend less time on social media and more time socializing with the people already in front of them. I challenge you readers to abstain from going on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social media website all day and get connected in the real world by spending time with the people around you in a more personable way.
Julia Lee
Livermore, California
