Social Media is just the beginning.

Recently, I have seen a lot of talk about the concept of social media and the idea that it is ruining the brains of the next generation. Our generation. There seems to be so much anger towards a specific part of it, generalizing the whole concept and stereotyping it into a category of negligence to the exterior. I hear that we are glued to our phones 'till our eyes no longer see the world in front of us and that we no longer have a mind of our own. This mindset portrays us as though we are bodies decaying away without the knowledge of the changing world around us. To some retrospect, I do see where the critiques are coming from; we do live during a time where everything is #____goals and everyone wants to be anyone but themselves based on a sliver of someone's life that they see portrayed online. We live during the time of the internet famous, where you can rise and plummet at any second for absolutely no reason or every reason. It's a pretty crazy concept that no ancient philosopher or inventor could have been able to comprehend.Obviously there is the factor that one can manipulate everything about their image throughout social media, but it's meant to be a highlight real rather than a tell all novel. It's not a bad thing to alter yourself or put makeup on or pose a certain way to post a picture of yourself to look pretty, that's not going to ultimately make you a bad person. It's okay to find your reflection pretty and portray yourself however you would like. That is a part of social media, whether one wants it to be or not. It's just about finding the balance where it doesn't dictate every decision that you make and it lacks honesty to some extent.The thing with social media, is that it's not a binary concept but instead a multilateral one. It's not real or fake, bad or good; with one idea comes the opposite. But outweighing those concepts are everything else that come with social media. It creates connections worlds away, friendships that would have never been possible without it. It creates conversation; my timelines are filled with young people starting a conversation, using voice to point out the things that are wrong and need to be changed. There are young voices that don't wait for someone else to notice but start the change themselves. We are the generation who talk politics and social injustice. We are the generation that isn't afraid of hypocritical authority and talking about what we believe in. We are able to share stories and conversations and ideas that would have never be made without it. We are able to get news at our fingertips and start the best kinds of revolutions with just our thumbs. We are able to share art and talent and find beautiful jewels in the midst of hundreds with just the flick of a finger.   Social media was one of the most revolutionary things to be fabricated during the 21st century and constructed the most involved youth. That is something that is so important to the development of society, to go forward and not back. For so long, kids were expected to listen even if they didn't agree and had something to say. They no longer have to wait and that is progress. This is just my two cents. What's yours?