This past week I and my sister have had multiple conversations about how social media impacts us as people, and although I know this is a topic covered pretty heavily, I wanted to write this article in order to give a new perspective.

Last week, I decided to delete all social media and when I say all, I mean all. I deleted Tik Tok, Instagram, and Snapchat, sadly, I only lasted about four days before I downloaded it again because the weekend came and I was getting way too bored and losing my mind, although throughout those four days, I started to understand why my sister deleted hers. I felt more connected to the people around me and was more focused since I didn’t have many notifications distracting me from my priorities.

I also could live more in the moment and enjoy the things and people around me. Instead of going to the beach for example and being like “Wow this is gorgeous I need to post this on my story so everyone can see where I am.” I decided to just enjoy the view and really let it sink in, also at some point I feel like you start to feel obligated to post everything going on in your life rather than just taking the time to live in the moment simply.

In order to get a different perspective, I decided to interview Aaron Dixon, I asked some questions, and he had some interesting answers, let’s take a look.

When asked, “What is your opinion on social media influence?” Aaron stated that his opinion on social media influence is based upon his personal experience, the movie The Social Dilemma on Netflix, and the book Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier. He also said he believes that social media is a septic tank of falsified information, disguised as the truth, and a gallery of fabricated highlight reels, composed of meticulously selected photos and videos, disguised as people’s everyday lives.

I then asked, “Do you think it’s social media itself that causes harm, or the things people choose to look at or how they look at social media?” he then said he believes that social media itself causes harm as it is strategically designed, by advertisers, to harvest the attention of its users for the sake of selling products and maximizing profits. He believes social media increases cyberbullying, depression, low self-esteem, and suicidal tendencies through the constant bombardment of comments and opinions from complete strangers and the comparison of one’s personal life to the inaccurate display of happiness and achievement from others.

Finally, I asked Aaron if social media can have any benefits and he said, like cigarettes, I don’t think social media has any benefits. Finding a reason to use social media and social media benefits are not interchangeable ideas, being social has its benefits, and accurate and honest media has benefits. Ironically social media as it stands today does very little to promote either.

In conclusion, I think everyone has their own opinion on social media. Personally, I believe that some of the things Aaron stated in his interview are true like the fact that it can lead people to depression, self-esteem issues, and many other things. I also agree that there is a lot of false news, but I also believe that social media can help people express themselves and help expand small businesses. So, to conclude maybe try deleting your social media for like 3 days and see what it does for you who knows you might just realize you are better off without it.