Challenges of growing up in 2019

I want to start off this blog post by showing my appreciation for the fact that I spent the first 10 years of my life not knowing what the internet was or who the Kardashians were. And even when the internet officially became a thing, and my parents bought their first ever computer, I wasn’t that interested in it and I much preferred spending my afternoons playing with my toys or visiting friends that lived nearby.

I was about 11 or 12 when Facebook reached its peak in popularity among teenagers. I must’ve been about 12 when a friend convinced me to register on Facebook. I remember spending the next couple of years fascinated by it and logged in every day, mostly to chat with friends but also to post tonnes of silly status updates (that haunt me to this very day thanks to that '‘you have memories to look back to'’ notification I receive so regularly) and lots of pictures. Back then, every social outing had to be celebrated with a photo/video or an entire gallery of such. Back in the day, the motto was 'pictures or it didn’t happen!'

Then, Instagram became a thing and I could easily classify as someone who is addicted to social media. I still use it quite a lot and feel like all people my age do to either communicate with friends, keep up with the world of news and their favorite celebs or get the occasional dopamine rush out of a selfie that receives a lot of likes & reactions.

Using social media to keep up with aspirational figures such as influencers, models or other celebrities (especially on Instagram) to see what their fab lives look like every day is a very popular use of SM and something I engage in too.  It’s an effective way to escape your own world of worries and responsibilities but also can inspire you to work harder, follow your dreams or aim to make the same income as your idol one day.

There really isn't anything wrong with using social media to motivate yourself but it can become a problem if you find yourself spending your precious time on comparing yourself to influencers who, you believe, live perfect lives.

Similarly, looking for validation from others by posting 10 selfies every week and checking your FB/Instagram every 10 minutes to see how many likes you’re at is when it becomes really toxic.

But what about children that were born into this social media craze? Children that received their first iPads/Tablets or Laptops aged 3 or 4 and are already using social media & spending all their free time playing games or chatting to people they don’t know? It’s truly terrifying how dissociated these kids become from real life, how their attention spans continuously decrease and how addicted they become over time. 

I'm grateful for the fact that I spent my youngest years without tech and was only exposed to that kind of entertainment at the age of 11 or 12, which I still believe was a bit too early and definitely had an impact on my childhood. I feel like it made me want to grow up more quickly.

I know technology is great and can help with many things but it makes me sad how it almost stops today's kids from having a proper childhood. This interference only becomes more severe with time, especially because we're becoming more and more tech-dependent as years pass by. 

Kids need attention and interaction with the outside world. They should be encouraged to spend time with their friends and family, to read books, to pursue a passion and to unleash their creativity! And as for myself, and other young adults (because the younger generation is mostly affected by this), it’s extremely important to take social media breaks and let your inner child run wild sometimes. Have fun in life, you only get one so try to spend as much of it as you can offline.

Until next time, 

      Paula