Social media has taken the world by storm since the year 2000 with Myspace. Myspace was one of the first social media that started it all. Connecting with millions of people, creating and personalizing a page that fits your personality, placing music on your page to add a “little something.”

Then, Facebook came into the competition, and everyone went social-media berzerk. With this site, you can keep in touch more efficiently because of the timeline, which informs you of what your friends are talking about and what they are doing and what they liked. It was a way to stay informed with people’s lives, from posting pictures to posting status updates. That’s all you basically do, right?

Here’s the thing…I see no purpose in being constantly connected with the world. Yet, this is taking over and consuming teenagers lives. This social media obsession with sites like Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Snapchat, Twitch, and Vine is troubling. But they are some of the most popular websites on the Internet.

Technology is taking the world to scary new heights. Now, you can get all these websites through numerous apps on your smartphone. It is in your pocket and everywhere you go.

It has gotten to the point where young kids in elementary school have smart phones and have easy access to social media, ignoring what their childhood should really be like – simply playing outside. Teenagers aren’t paying attention in school like they should be, constantly looking down at their lap, not wanting to miss a post or a picture or a trend that they need to be a part of.

How can you be so popular on the internet, but when you physically go somewhere else, you are so alone? No one socializes anymore. And think of years from now, how bad will it be? I’m not saying that kids should completely give up on social media. There needs to be a healthy balance. There are more important things that should come before that.

There are way more important things than posting a picture for likes. Everyone’s first priority should be to get an education.