My generation cannot remember a time without the internet. We have always had Google, which has allowed us to access infinite information for our entire lives. Around the age of 12, most of us decided to begin our internet presence through social media accounts, especially Facebook. Through social media, we can share our own lives as well as learn about the world around us. Both of these aspects are beneficial in idea; however, we have taken sharing to the extreme compromised the quality of our interpersonal relationships, and we have sheltered ourselves from learning and created our stagnant minds.

We continuously develop our social media footprint. Social media websites like Facebook allow us to publish information about our lives, “friend” people, and like and comment on posts.  The World Without Facebook claims that 70% of local businesses use it for marketing and the average person can instantly share information with 130 friends (as of 2011). This ability to share events and photos has led to more photos being taken. In I Forgot My Phone, people are shown using their phone cameras to document important moments and preserve memories, like taking a video whole at a concert or taking pictures while out with friends. People were also shown sharing their phone screens with other friends, presumably sharing photos or something found on social media. The introduction of social media into our lives has allowed us to create electronic models of our lives. Unfortunately, social media can become all-consuming, especially when certain behind-the-scenes influences are at play. The psychological shift most deadly for our interpersonal lives is the excessive time we spend on social media and cell phones. In I Forgot My Phone, people use their phones to text, use social media, and take pictures for social media while with others. This detracts from the social interaction of the moment and may offend others, because the person texting or checking Facebook cannot be fully focused on the people with whom he is spending time. Even simply taking pictures or videos at a concert or with friends can be distracting and detrimental, because the person is likely focused on the quality of the picture/video instead of absorbed in the moment. Sometimes, people become obsessed with taking pictures to post on Facebook, to let the public know just how much fun they had “with” their friends. In addition to the effect of social media while with friends, social media can cause a decrease in the perceived value of a friendship. As previously stated, the average person has 130 Facebook friends, and most young people have many times that number. This gives the impression that these people are all real friends and deserve to hear personal details about one's life. Previously, personal events, emotions and successes were shared in person; now, one update shares this information with everyone. This is much faster and more efficient, but devalues the confidence. Social media gives the impression that all friends are worthy of confidence, but but eliminates the bond between close friends that a confidence can bring. Our internet and social media age has caused a psychological shift from living for one’s private life to living for the public one.

In addition to sharing information, social media is also a powerful tool for learning new information. According to Beware Online “Filter Bubbles,” Facebook feeds contain links to infinite news articles and opinions, available for every person’s limitless education. Google also shows relevant news information whenever someone searches a popular topic. This appearance of relevant information helps people become aware of what is going on around them. However, there is a covert factor in social media and search engines that causes it to display only information it believes we will want to see. According to Beware Online “Filter Bubbles,” both Facebook and Google have been monitoring people’s likes and dislikes and opinions, and tailoring pages to show only what agrees with those. This is dangerous; only by encountering uncomfortable things and different opinions can we become tolerant and grow as people. The filters on Facebook and Google are keeping us from hearing what we need to hear. They present opinions that they know we will like, thus preventing us from expanding or developing our personal views. They also only show us information with which we are comfortable, which generally prevents people from reading news articles about world conflict. People who can vote for world leaders need to know what is going on in the world; corruption feeds off of the ignorance of the population. Learning in the age of social media has infinite potential but in reality has enclosed our minds.

Social media has changed the way we share and learn information. It has vastly increased our sharing abilities, but made our private lives public and damaged our personal relationships. It has also vastly increased our learning abilities, but only shows us what we want to hear. For something with so much potential, it is, when overused, the greatest vice of our era; the overgrowth of social media has created today’s public lives and stagnant minds.