People often make the assumption that every teenager has a cell phone and some type of social media account. While this assumption is a fair one, considering how the world we live in today is completely saturated with technology and how communication with others is now reliant upon avenues such as social media, I consider myself an outlier being that I have neither of the two. As the rest of the world walks around with the latest iPhone or Samsung in hand, my main means of communication is via iPod Touch.
Through my middle and high school careers, it has often been difficult not having something that the rest of society seems to rely so heavily upon. When you are with a group of friends and everyone is talking about the latest trends on Instagram or Snapchatting other people, I simply can’t relate. Or when teachers ask the class to “get out your cell phone and sign up for the Remind,” I look around the room and realize I am the only student not digging into my backpack for a phone. Situations like these can make feel me very isolated and like I am missing out on what appears to be such a big part of life for the average teen.
However, I do believe that this feeling of isolation in certain situations has been worth it, looking at the consequences social media brings.
Although I do have access to social media on the iPod, not participating in social media has been a personal choice of mine. It saddens me to see students in the lunchroom sitting right next to each other, and instead of engaging in conversation, they are immersed in their cell phones. Not having a cell phone has forced me to appreciate the value of face-to-face interaction, which is unfortunately becoming a thing of the past.
There have also been too many instances where I have seen people becoming addicted to social media. It is genuinely hard for some to go extended amounts of time without checking their Snapchat or Instagram feed. Teens today are constantly comparing themselves and their lives to those of others and not ever thinking that they are good enough just as they are. By posting pictures of yourself, you are also making yourself vulnerable to hateful and nasty comments that, whether you think so or not, have an effect you.
To me, social media is just another obstacle to happiness and not something that I would receive a great amount of pleasure from.
When parents and schools lecture teens on how you should think twice before you post something online, I am part of a small population to which this conversation does not even apply. I think growing up not having a cell phone has had its challenges, but it has allowed me to see things from a different perspective, one that many teenagers could never imagine their life with the absence of.
I have often been told by my peers that my parents must be so strict because they don’t let me have a cell phone. Although this may seem true, this is just not the case. I believe my parents’ decision is a completely logical one and I consider myself lucky to not have been given one. It would not be far fetched to say that my parents are “old school,” but this is something I am happy to acknowledge. I am thankful that my parents have not given into society’s norms, and in the future, I hope I will have this same mindset for children of my own.
To this day, I am still surprised I have not succumbed to the pressures of trying to be like everyone else in getting a social media account, but when I have doubts, I try and see it as something that sets me apart from the rest of the crowd, not as something I am missing out on.
– By Madeline Conte