What our society is losing: the presence of social media in our society

Have you ever gone on a camping trip and didn't bring your phone with you? Did you constantly feel the entire trip that you wished you could snap chat what you are doing so everyone could see how much fun you're having? Did you ever worry so much about getting the perfect shot of the sunset that you missed seeing the actual sunset with your very own eyes?

Why is it that social media has become the motivating factor of what we choose to do?

It is true, that social media is now ingrained into our minds and our thought processes. There's not way out of this one, it is what it is now.

If you think about it, we are the last generation that will know what life was like without a device at our hands. All children born after the year 2000 will never be able to comprehend life without a screen.

I'm not saying that is a sad thing. Social media does a lot of good for our society including keeping us more connected, and making us more efficient in finding information. But we need to remember what social media has taken away from our society and do our best to preserve those aspects, because we are the only generation that truly can.

So what does our society now lack because of social media?

In my personal opinion the largest down fall of social media is our skewed perception of ourselves and others.

Instead of perceiving someone based on their personality, we now measure people's lives by their looks, their clothing, their nice houses, and their opportunities. So what happens to everyone who doesn't have a nice camera or the body of a model or the funds for nice things. Do we automatically judge them for that? We do. But we shouldn't.

It is inevidable that social media is going to influence the way we perceive people.  It's natural to compare ourselves, we did it before social media, but we should try our best to not let that influence the way we feel about ourselves. It is going to finluence us. iT is. That is inevitable.
The treatment? Use Discipline. Try not to let social medial be your instant go-to. When you're at a stop light, just stop and look around you. When you get home from a long day, lay on the couch and talk to your family. When you're in class, keep it in your backpack. 

Secondly, social media impairs our ability to interact with other individuals at the level we used to. Teenagers cannot complete a conversation with an adult without their phones buzzing about 20 times. Young adults and college students often lack the ability to confidently approach their boss, their roommate, or their spouse and talk through issues. In social settings when you run out of things to talk about it's so much easier to pull out your phone and scroll through instagram. When you're on a date, the phone comes out at least a couple times during the date. Even adults struggle with these issues as well. Why can't we just have a decent conversation here? We did it 5 years ago!!


You know all the facts, so what are we going to do to change this!!! Employers aren't going to care how many likes you have on your picture or the cool places that you've been or captured. They want to be able to interact with you!!


I do believe that social media is a form of art. I LOVE following people who post awesome pictures of awesome places. Who know how to rearrange an individual in a setting and make it look dreamy. I think social media is great! But we should not let it take away from our society what is most important, and that is our self-confidence and our relationships with others.

We have 24 hours a day to do whatever we choose. If you take away work (8 hours), studying (3 hours), classes (4 hours) sleeping (7 hours), exercise (1 hour), socializing (1 hour), eating (1 hour).. .that leaves us with a grand total of: 1 hour of personal free time. Do we use that time draining our eyes on a screen?

We cannot forget that our eternity is also based on this life. We need to make time for our savior. WE need to spend genuine time studying and pondering rather than reading a quote on Instagram and spending the rest of the time flaunting over someone's cute wardrobe.

"Spiritual food is necessary for spiritual survival, especially in a world that is moving away from belief in God and the absolutes of right and wrong. In an age dominated by the Internet, which magnifies messages that menace faith, we must increase our exposure to spiritual truth in order to strengthen our faith and stay rooted in the gospel."

Tips for more effective use on social media:
1. Delete it for a week and notice the difference in how you see the world
2. Follow only your family and close friends
3. Turn your phone off when reading your scriptures or studying'
4. Journal about your experiences rather than posting them

Skin

Wrote this poem for a poetry night that I can't attend, so i thought i'd share it :)


Skin -- By Chelsea Clayton

It went in deep, but there was no pain
I felt numbness, a chill, but I was still sane
And then the blood; the pain; the sting
The site of it fed my anxieties
It throbs! It aches! I thought i was strong!
So hurt and confused, i cannot go on
Bandaids don't fix the bullet holes
They just cover up what we don't want to show
I can hide the truth, try and look brave
But the wound is still there, in my skin it's engraved
Even the doctor, the nurse or the friend
Cannot take away what only the skin can mend
With patience and time the skin will heal
What once was broken i can no longer feel
Now left with a scar that is bumpy and gray
It is no part of me, it's who i am today


This poem is representative of trials that we have in our lives. Events that were unexpected and painful. Often times we feel that we are strong, we have a sort of "Bring it on" mentality, but as we get into the brunt of our trials, our weaknesses are uncovered and we sincerely struggle. We are not ourselves, we feel confused and lost. The people that love us will try to help us, to comfort us, to put a bandaid over the pain, but that is only temporary because they cannot change your attitude, that is only something you can do yourself. It is up to YOU to take these trials and to make them a part of you, to help them make you stronger. Our individual and unique trials (like a scar) will now always be a part of you, but it is what makes you unique. From a physiological stand point skin is amazing in that it can heal itself. The same goes for ourselves, we can heal ourselves from any setback in our lives with the right attitude and faith in God's plan for our future.

Saying goodbye to 2014

Christmas break was a nice break from a busy semester and a great time to reflect on the past year. It has indeed been a crazy year with a lot of change, but with a lot of change comes a lot of self- improvement. I have learned SO much this past year because of my challenges and because of the amazing people i have met! Here are a few pictures from the last few months and Christmas break!

Love hanging out with cousin Sam! This football game was extremely cold though ;)


THANKSGIVING! 

 This year for Thanksgiving we went to Idaho and spent time with family out there. It was amazing and relaxing!

I love my family SO much! Everyone is getting so old! (Including surpassing me in height) 

THE HOMESTRETCH!!

Amazing friends supporting me at my intramural volleyball games! 

Typically we just tape the athletes but we got a special treat when the refs came in and asked us to tape them too! 

Saying goodbye to my favorites! I am miniature compared to them! 

Jill and I were very happy to have finished our semester at Orem! This is after 25 hours of basketball for us, we were stoked! Also, i loved working with Jill. She was amazing and so helpful!! 

Half marathon training! 

Our ten mile run was beautiful! 

Work! (or would i even call it work?) Seriously love the girls that i work with. Everyday is a party! 

Sometimes with my crazy schedule i don't know how i ever had time to go on dates… but luckily this boy was patient with my schedule and took me out on the weekends! Thanks David! 

Visiting the reindeer at Thanksgiving Point!

FINALS WEEK… Dun dun dun!!

Ran into Emily as she's coming out of her last final and i was going into my first! Way to kill it Em! 

Sometimes when i study, i get extremely lonely, Rachel was kind enough to give me a friend to keep me company!

Finals did a lot for my look

CHRISTMAS BREAK! FINALLY!

Well, before i knew it it was Christmas break! It was such a fun semester, i seriously had a blast! This Christmas break, i ate a lot, slept a lot, read Harry Potter and enjoyed my amazing family and old friends!!

Skyping Connor TWICE was a major highlight. He's such a stud!

Trying to do sassy Christmas tree pictures in our new jammies

Making up a dance! 

Hanging out with Whit! It has been 10 years that we have been friends and even though we've lived miles and miles apart for most of that time we still find a way to see each other during the holidays! LOVE THIS GIRL!

And that's all for 2014. I am SO EXCITED to see what 2015 brings me!!

Friends, Food and Fun

My experience in Jerusalem was unforgettable and life changing! When i first came home to "real life" i was super overwhelmed with everything that i was going to be doing; starting my major (or if i even wanted to do my major), starting an internship, keeping my current job, helping my family move, move into my apartment, and find some time be social, oh and getting back into shape! Going straight to Bear Lake after Israel was an amazing and relaxing time for me to spend some quality time with my family. They helped realize that i can do it and that everything will turn out for good! Bear Lake was also the closest thing to Galilee that i had ever seen :)


Bear Lake 

So excited to be with my beautiful sister 

The little girls went all out on the sand castles

Canoeing was a blast

Da babies were a hit!

BYU Jerusalem Shirts all around. Being the oldest cousin is seriously the greatest thing!

School Begins... 

My roommates and I have been trying hard to keep ourselves in shape and eat healthier. We also signed up for a half Marathon in January. Of course we decided to train in the winter! brr... but whatever gets us going! 

 I also chopped off my hair. I like the new change :) 

One of our ward friends brought us these! We were so grateful!

Meet "Our Boys": Mayo, Anson, Alex and David. These boys have seriously been amazing to us. We've had so much fun with them. Oh, and did we mention they're amazing cooks? Yeah, we like them.

                                            

                                                      

This is our cabin trip with the boys! We didn't just sleep the whole trip but we definitely crashed the night we got there- college is exhausting!  

My internship has been super awesome! I have learned s much and had a great time. I've loved getting to know Jill too. She's so fun to work with!! Our first football game was freezing!! But everything after that has been awesome! :) 

Did i mention we get to eat for every game?? woot woot!


There are also a lot of perks with my major! I can get anything worked on that hurts, i can diagnose my own injuries and i get to use BYU's underwater treadmill which is so sweet! 

                                                  

Because i missed seeing Connor by a few weeks he called me on my cell phone right before he got on the plane to Argentina. This is a weird picture but these are my tear filled eyes and super happy face right after i got to talk to him!! 

Grandpa came home from Canada and we all know what that means! CANADIAN CANDY!!! 

Went to the Utah State Fair and ran into all my cousins! (Lizzy and Abby and Tyler weren't there for the picture but i saw them too) 

BYU FOOTBALL (round 3 for us juniors!) These two are seriously  my best friends! Love you Jenny and Rach! 

Real Salt Lake game with Carson! 

Hanging out with Ross! We got the yummiest donuts at Art City Donuts and ate those with some Israeli candy and talked about our experiences in Jerusalem! 

Us and the boys decided to go to a dance at the Airport Hanger. Showed up and realized we were the oldest ones there- it was a freshman dance. But we made the most of it!! 

Shhh.. Amber and i went to in-n-out after the gym because we were starving! But we got the healthy style so that's good right? 

My favorite thing is taking the kiddos out for lunch on my way to my internship in Orem everyday! 

Cameron (Middle) was in the Opera! We decided it was a great chance to get all dressed up :) 

Trying to redeem ourselves by making dinner for the boys! Butternut squash soup, rolls and strawberry salad. I think they still like us! :) 

This moment right here was one of the greatest tender merices in my life. I was having a rough week.. and especially rough day. I was at the temple just in my car alone crying and feeling completely down on myself. I just wanted to be all alone. But then my phone started ringing and these two cute boys (lance and josh) who i haven't seen since last year, called me and took me to dinner. They didn't understand how much it meant to me to just get my mind off everything and talk! Thank you to those boys who are so attentive to the spirit! Love them to death! 

Reliving the Dead Sea with the girls

And the best part of this entire semester thus far are these two girls right here! I would say that i have the best roommates anyone could ask for! Love you Amber and Rach. 

The House that Built Me

Life brings the unexpected sometimes. I would NEVER have expected to move out of the house that i grew up in. Honestly i wasn't thrilled about the idea of my parents buying houses OUTSIDE the ward, it was uncomfortable to me, and somewhat emotional. But then i realized that Home isn't where your friends are, or your ward members, or your awesome bedroom, or your backyard, even those contribute to your life experiences, but really home is where your family is. I am SO excited to come home to two new houses. I know that it's going to be such a fun adventure and i am getting really excited about it!!!!

But, to reminisce... here are some pictures from the House that Built Me-- (Theme song to set the mood:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQYNM6SjD_o&feature=kp

First picture at our house 

Last picture we took of all of us kids at the house