Optimist
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
    • Columns
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Features
    • Book Review
  • Multimedia
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos
  • Podcasts
    • Optimist Overtime
    • Top of the Key
  • Police Log
  • Print Edition
  • Projects
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Policies
    • Staff Contacts
    • Jobs
You are here: Home / Opinion / Always care more about the person than the profile

Always care more about the person than the profile

November 24, 2018 by Allison Harrell

Social media is turning into my biggest enemy.

In its most innocent form, social media can be used to connect family members who are deployed in the military. It can be used to introduce breaking scientific advancements. It can even be used to virtually give to organizations across the world.

However, a question our generation must wrestle with is: do the benefits of social media outweigh the negative repercussions?

If you are a Millennial, or even Generation Z, you have seen the negative effects of social media first-hand. Ever wish sometimes that you could re-wind the clock and take the world back to a time when no one had a smartphone in hand yet? Or go back to that time when a guy had to actually muster up enough courage to walk up and ask the girl out to dinner in person?

Sure, I could just delete all of the apps. But then it feels as if I have now disconnected myself from what is going on in the world, because everyone is on it.

That is why our lives are becoming increasingly busier. There is more to look at, more to see, more to do on a screen. If everyone collectively would decide to delete their apps, then I wouldn’t feel as if I were missing out on anything – but that will happen when pigs fly.

The fact is, every time I log on to Instagram, I find myself constantly comparing my life to those portrayed in an aesthetically pleasing profile of perfectly organized pictures with coordinating filters. I follow famous travel bloggers and dream of one day visiting the places they go. I follow famous couples and envy their love stories, also admiring how they can hire a personal photographer to follow them around, capturing the best shots of their cutest moments.

Especially within the ACU Bubble, it seems as though everyone I follow is going on trips of a lifetime every other weekend, getting engaged and truly living their best lives.

Truth be told, looking at my own life and the images I have chosen to share social media, I have posted the highlights, the highest of highs, and my biggest accomplishments.

People don’t usually post about when their family is struggling financially, or about the fight they just had with their fiancé of two weeks, or about the unexpected divorce that causes every holiday to be a nightmare. Those things happen more often than social media tells us.

We must pursue deep friendships with the people around us to understand that everyone struggles with something. No one is perfect; therefore, no one on Instagram or Facebook, etc. has the perfect life that you drool over. There is no coincidence that studies have shown an increase in depression directly related to use of social media.

This has become a serious epidemic. Worshiping the lives of people that we find on the ‘Popular’ page, instead of caring to truly get to know and walk alongside the living, breathing souls around us.

Social media is a useful tool when we use it in the right context and with good purpose. Use the tools at your finger tips to inspire creativity, encourage, and give hope.

Let us not neglect the friends who are currently occupying the same room as us at the moment. Let us commit to knowing others deeper than their 280- character Tweet. Then maybe, we will be able to see humans, instead of profiles.

Filed Under: Columns, Opinion

Other Opinion:

  • Not-so-friendly competition

  • Sing Song in the Expo Center presents an exciting opportunity

  • Micro-trends are a danger to Gen Z and the planet

About Allison Harrell

You are here: Home / Opinion / Always care more about the person than the profile

Other Opinion:

  • Not-so-friendly competition

  • Sing Song in the Expo Center presents an exciting opportunity

  • Micro-trends are a danger to Gen Z and the planet

Follow us online

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Optimist on Twitter

acuoptimist The Optimist @acuoptimist ·
4 May

"Maybe we just don’t care enough. But if we do start caring, and if we become the loudest fans in the WAC, let’s stick to supportive cheering." Read more from Guest Columnist Londyn Gray:
https://acuoptimist.com/2022/04/not-so-friendly-competition/

Reply on Twitter 1521918832738144257 Retweet on Twitter 1521918832738144257 1 Like on Twitter 1521918832738144257 8 Twitter 1521918832738144257
acuoptimist The Optimist @acuoptimist ·
3 May

Royce Clough and Jael Morel have been named as Mr. and Miss ACU for the class of 2022, a traditional honor voted on by the student body and awarded to two members of each graduating class.

Reply on Twitter 1521607087553458178 Retweet on Twitter 1521607087553458178 Like on Twitter 1521607087553458178 18 Twitter 1521607087553458178

Optimist on Facebook

The Optimist

3 months ago

The Optimist
"Maybe we just don’t care enough. But if we do start caring, and if we become the loudest fans in the WAC, let’s stick to supportive cheering." Read more from Guest Columnist Londyn Gray: ... See MoreSee Less

Not-so-friendly competition - Optimist

acuoptimist.com

BY: LONDYN GRAY “Number 18, you look like you don’t shower!” I chuckled and shrugged it off. “Londyn!” They had looked up the roster. “Do you even brush your teeth?” I laughed again, rol...
View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

The Optimist

3 months ago

The Optimist
Cullen Auditorium is expected to be handed over to the university in June 2022, alongside a name change that coupled with the renovation will create new future for the Cornerstone class, Chapel and the Department of Theatre. ... See MoreSee Less

Cullen Auditorium still set for a name change alongside renovations - Optimist

acuoptimist.com

Cullen Auditorium is expected to be handed over to the university in June 2022, alongside a name change that coupled with the renovation will create new future for the Cornerstone class, Chapel and th...
View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Videos

Women’s tournament run ended by first-round exit against UTRGV

The Wildcats’ Western Athletic Conference tournament run and season came to a ... [Read More…]

  • Optimist Newscast Feb. 22. 2022
  • Optimist Newscast 2.16.2022
  • Optimist Newscast 2.9.2022

Latest Photos

  • Home
  • Weekly Ads
  • Classifieds

© 2022 ACU Optimist · All Rights Reserved