What if social media didn’t exist?

Many think it would be a blessing,

so many experiences we wouldn’t miss,

just dismissing all the positives

since so many often forget just how necessary it can be.

What if social media didn’t exist?

I can already hear some adults, rattling on about how we will 

finally be unglued from our phones,

finally present,

finally a “part of society.”

As if they are immune to the very platforms they think are a plague to our society.

What if social media didn’t exist?

So many texts would go unsent, 

Comments lingering on the fingertips of users

So many typed words left un-typed

Since spoken words sometimes just don’t cut it.

Anonymity is a great help sometimes, 

allowing kids to speak their minds and speak up,

to tell their truths of abuse or and mental illness,

all without the fear of being heard by the wrong people,

without fear of being heard by the people who hurt them.

Yet ruthless obscenities are screamed out in all caps

working to tear down every wall kids have built up.

And sometimes the anonymity works against us,

protecting hateful rhetoric through an online pseudonym

and causing more harm than good.

The name calling, hate speech, and threats,

all too common on these social media sites,

and rarely a way to monitor it all.

What if social media didn’t exist?

How would we keep in touch?

Friends and family separated by thousands of miles

Now only separated by a cell phone or laptop.

Thousands of relationships last so much longer

all because of social media and the way we can communicate,

no matter what physical distance separates us.

What if social media didn’t exist?

“Ideal” body types and beauty standards

perpetrated by racism and sexism

would still exist,

still play a huge role in other media outlets.

But there would be less comparisons,

less photoshopped pictures on instagram and filters on photos

that all reinforce some very unrealistic expectations.

But the shaming and insecurities would still exist.

Maybe not to the same extent which they do now,

but they would nonetheless be present.

Social media allows for 

uplifting, inspiring, caring

communities to develop that foster safe spaces

and reinforce the idea of inclusivity and self love.

So for every negative of social media

There is a positive.

And for every positive, 

There is a negative.

While there are so many issues, 

some more dire than others,

social media has brought the world closer together,

allowed for connections with people

that was never previously possible.

So using social media with

caution, 

kindness, 

empathy, 

love, 

and respect

is the way to go,

and makes it all the worthwhile.