Summer is full of outdoor concerts, vacations, and campfires; but not many people are really living in the moment because their noses’ are stuck in their phones.

The mentality of getting the perfect picture can possibly ruin a whole outing. Trying to find the best lighting and the cutest pose can cloud your vision and you could miss what is happening right around you. According to Shepherd Hill Academy’s website, “3.1 billion people worldwide are social media users” and out of those 3.1 billion, “210 Million People Are Estimated To Suffer From Internet & Social Media Addictions”. The pressure social media addiction has on teens can be overwhelming and can cause mental health issues that can permanently affect them in the teens’ adult life. Also, according to mediakix.com “Teens Who Spend 5 Hours A Day On Their Phones Are 2X More Likely To Show Depressive Symptoms” Some teens and young adults feel that they have a certain image to fulfill they have seen on different media sites.

Getting the most likes or the most retweets can seem more important that chilling with friends and family. The fact that it is considered an addition is terrifying to me; that checking Instagram may be more important than focusing on the road while driving. This not only affects your mental health but it can also affect you physically if it is taken to the extreme. In this case of “texting” and driving, you are not only endangering yourself but you could possibly end someone else’s life.

This dilemma is not only a mental health issue it is a lifestyle many people chose to take part in. If you are active on YouTube or other sites, many people are in the profession of ”vlogging”. Usually considers it a short daily video on how the Vlogger lives their life, meaning everything is on film and they always have a camera or phone on hand to capture the moments of their life. Sure, it is fun seeing different ways people live out their lives and what people go through but it’s also bizarre to me they’re seeing their life through a camera lens and not in first person.

So next time recording a video on Snapchat or just doing it for the gram take a step back and think how this is controlling how you live my life in different situations.