These days we’ve got our cell phones out and ready to capture share-worthy moments whether we are on vacation with our families, on a date or driving down the freeway at 80 miles an hour, all for the sake of receiving the highest amount of likes as possible. But is social media ruining, or even controlling, your life?
Over time, our society has rendered likes on social media posts as the new way of achieving a higher life status. Yohana Desta of Mashable explains how trying to garner social media praise by posting real-time images and status updates is quickly changing how we live. So take a look at your life, and think, is social media ruining it?
Co-authors of New York Times bestseller Crucial Conversations, Joseph Grenny and David Maxfield, recently conducted a study to show how people are missing out on truly enjoying life experiences by trying to post the perfect picture to their online profile. They refer to this type of posting as “trophy hunting.”
According to the study, 50 percent of people admitted “posting the perfect picture has prevented them from enjoying life experiences.” In addition, 91 percent of respondents have seen tourists miss a great moment because of trying to post it on social media and some even admitted to risking their safety for a like-worthy post. Additionally, Maxfield and Grenny found a correlation between obsessing over social media sharing and decreased happiness. This new social mindset also contributes to bad behavior including unnecessary rudeness and reckless driving.
Try it for yourself, turn off social media during your next vacation or date night and see how your experience changes.
