Technology can easily be identified as one of the world's best inventions as it has evolved greatly within the past century. I mean it all started with the radio and now we practically have tiny computers that we carry in our pockets. There are so many technology benefits, especially our phones, as they create an easier lifestyle for us to do many things like staying connected with loved ones, looking up how many calories are in a banana, calculating how much you should tip on a $53 bill, and much so much more you could write a novel on how much our phones do. Although technology can be extremely beneficial to all of us, it can also have many negative aspects on everybody, especially my generation. Many people argue that people's relationships with technology can be healthy or unhealthy, but when it comes to me and our generation I feel that most people did have healthy relationships but evolved into unhealthy ones as time goes on.
Most people my age were so excited to get iPod touches and iPads in middle school because we saw our parents with cell phones so we felt just like them with the next best thing that Apple had released at the time. At this time we were using these devices to play games like Temple Run, make funny videos on VideoStar, and take fun selfies with cool effects. Technology at this time was all fun and games until we discovered the fun of social media.
In 2010 many social media platforms were released and became popular instantly once they hit the appstore. Instagram was the first one that people my age downloaded first and people would just post selfies and pictures of what they did daily. Snapchat, released in 2011, was also the next big platform for us to be on. We would use funny filters, start streaks (a streak of the number of days you Snapchat with each other), and just like Instagram we would post lots of timestamps throughout our day for our friends to see. Instagram and Snapchat went from a fun and welcoming platform at this time but the more it gained in popularity the more Instagram became less of a "game" where you would post every uplifting moment of your day to a place where you post once in a blue moon and feel insecure.
In 2015 suicide rates, specifically in women, had been the highest it had been in decades and is sought out to be linked the social media. Many people on these platforms began to spread hateful words, also known as cyberbullying, toward people and it would tear down girls' self-esteem. Since these comments were behind a screen, many of these children's parents were not aware that these comments were being made and there was no disciplinary action behind their actions. These comments were mostly about girls' looks and how they were not good enough looking, needed to lose weight and so much worse that I will not disclose as I will get emotional. The worst part about all this was the fact that many people who were friends with the people who would make these comments would agree to be "cool" which spread the wrong message on these platforms. Receiving these comments is horrible, as I experienced it first hand when I was younger, and it really makes you feel awful about your appearance so you start to compare yourself to others.
As time went on the comments became way less of an issue when it came to insecurities, the true issue now was just comparing yourself to what you saw online about other people's looks. More and more people have begun to post themselves and their lives online and there are now "influencers," who are people who have a decent following and post relatable content for the public to see. These influencers always perceive themselves online to have a perfect life; going to these amazing places, being beautiful people, and usually they are making a living off of it. Since we look up to these people because of their beauty and lifestyles when they express to their followers that they use certain products or participate in certain activities, we instantly feel the need to go out and buy these products or go and participate in those activities. But some of the time what these influencers are displayed as online are not who they truly are off of the screen.
Many people like to use Photoshop, Facetune, or a crazy amount of filters to make themselves look perfect to the public. Studies have shown that over 71% of people use some sort of face tuning on their photos before they upload them to social media. Social media platforms practically encourage people to use these "beauty filters" and Facetune as Snapchat and TikTok have them built into their camera features so you can butcher yourself to look however you feel most confident. The more people use these types of features the more people feel like they need to look a certain way, and this causes people our age to have such an unhealthy relationship with social media. When watching the "Mad World Remix of Moby" video created by Julian West, if you play the clip from the video that goes from 1:20 to 1:24 it shows a perfect example of how many people feel behind the screen and on the screen. As someone who does feel this unhealthy connection with social media and the looks aspect of it being the major reason behind that, this clip is a great example of how to really feels. We make ourselves feel like we must be exactly like the person next to us and the concept of social media does not help that feeling lessen. 
Although the perception of people on social media is a huge part of the unhealthy relationship with technology, the amount of time spent on technology is also a major factor in technology being unhealthy for us teenagers and young adults. For me personally, my screentime average most of the time ranges from 7 to 10 hours a day, with most of my time being on these social media platforms taking up the majority of the time used. So even though many of us who use these platforms feel insecure and feel we must follow a certain lifestyle to live up societies standards, we still continue to use these platforms because watching these influencers is addicting. This indicates that my relationship with technology is super unhealthy; one because I constantly feel I need to follow certain standards and look a certain way, but two I spend most of my time out of my day on some sort of technology. When I am off my phone I am most likely watching TV or using my laptop for school work, which makes it so I am constantly in front of a screen.
Overall, technology has so many features and devices linked to it that help us through each day of our lives greatly and we couldn't picture our lives without our technology. However, there are many negative aspects and addictions to technology that create this unhealthy relationship when it comes to us and our connection with it. I can easily admit that I have an unhealthy relationship with technology for many reasons, but overall the main reason would have to be the way social media makes me feel daily because that feeling follows you to reality off of the screen. I hope to one day have a healthier relationship with social media but I must take it one step at a time to make it there.
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