Social media: connecting or disconnecting us?

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pinterest, Foursquare, Vine, and Skype- these are the different places on the web where you can follow, like, tweet or see pictures of what I've been doing, where I've been, and who I've been on these adventures with...kinda creepy, right? 

Most of us started with one social media 'profile' and then hoped on the next bandwagon. Then some of us got fancy and decided to categorize how or with whom we shared certain parts of our life, added filters, learned to edit videos and pinned things. 

But WHY!? 

Well because we wanted to 'stay connected' with friends from our hometown, from college, our relatives, ex co-workers or friends that live across the country or world...but then what happened? 

Social media began to disconnect some of us. 

Have you ever been around a group of people who were on their phones almost the entire time? Checking into the restaurant, taking a picture of their food, tweeting about how great it was.

I asked my husband, who is only on 2 of the above mentioned social media networks what he thought about social media based on his and his friends experiences with it; is it connecting or disconnecting us? This was his response; "I think it's great, but I definitely think that some people are letting it run their lives- it disconnects people who let it. In terms of creating drama among couples; those relationships were probably weak to begin with."

So what's the moral of the story? Everything in moderation. The tricky thing is that social media is so integrated into the fabric of our present day society that we don't even think about the amount of time we spend on it. 

Moderation is different for everybody.  If more than one of your loved ones talks to you about your excessive use of social media, you need to check yourself.  If you are reprimanded at work, your marriage or relationship is suffering from it, take some time off- get reconnected with the living breathing human beings in your life, pick up a book, go out for a run-clear your head! We now have this idea that we have to share so many aspects of our lives, but we don't.  

Next time you meet up with  a friend try this;  Look them in the the eye, listen to what they are saying, savor your food, carpe diem people! Yes it is nice to have videos and pictures to remember our vacations, and other experiences, but there is no price for living in the present.

So yes go ahead and document your life, be aware of the next new thing but also remember that seizing life as it comes is what makes remembering those moments [we are so anxious to document] worth it.