‘There is nothing new under the sun.’This is a proverb that my mom always used to say while I was growing up. What I get from this proverb is that this earth has been around for a very long time, and over the years life keeps repeating itself in cycles. We live in a constantly changing society; we make more technological advancements every day and discover new things. But according to the proverb, these new things may not really be new after all. Although they may be new in color, shape, or appearance, they may have existed before at some time and place.
During my lifetime, I’ve experienced many changes. When I was younger, we used to watch box-shaped TVs with antennas on top. Often, the picture display would start scrambling, and we would have to play around with the antennas until the picture became clear again. Now we have slim, sleek, big screen TVs with top-notch resolution. We’ve gone from having landlines to sophisticated smartphones. Now, with these phones, we spend a significant amount of our time living in a virtual reality called social media.
As I remember it, Myspace was the first popular social media platform to take the world by storm. People could make a profile, upload and share pictures and information. It was also pretty convenient for dating, which probably made it even more popular. Soon after came Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and all the current trendy apps. These apps have changed life as we know it, and are now a very important part of our society. There are numerous benefits to using some of these apps, but at times I wonder, do the benefits outweigh the drawbacks? Personally, I’m not so sure they do.
In the olden days, most people who liked to reflect on life would write in their diary, describing their feelings or thoughts, and recording the experiences they had. Diaries were very important private possessions, and if anyone else read them, the owner would feel embarrassed and possibly very enraged. For millenials, diaries have been replaced by social media. Thoughts, emotions, and experiences that used to be private are now posted online every second. It seems that popular opinion has become more important than private reflection. Relationship problems? Go to social media. Disagree with what the president said? Go to social media. Angry with the world? Go to social media. Few extra minutes to spare? Go to social media. It appears that social media is the present day solution to all problems.
Maybe I’m just an old soul, but I think this social media obsession is a recipe for disaster. I really don’t care about your thoughts on what the president said. I would much rather listen to his speech, do my own contemplating, and write it in my good old diary. So while this generation continues to base their lives around the fantasy world that is social media, I’ll be sticking to my old ways.
Jordan
Vocabulary
proverb (n) ? a short, well known, wise saying
take by storm (idiom) ? have great and rapid succes in a specific area
outweigh (v) ? be heavier, greater, or more significant than something else
enraged (adj.) ? very angry; furious
old soul (n) ? someone who has a greater appreciation for older things
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