From the time we were little, we’ve been warned about the dangers of the internet. The internet has exploded  over the years and has taken over the world with social media. There is the danger of losing your identity by sharing your personal information. There are definite online predators and other unspeakable people that use the internet to their advantage. There is another subject, however, that we aren’t always so willing to talk about. The permanence and social effects that social media can have on our lives.

To my surprise, you can download every single one of the tweets you’ve ever posted. Ever. This means that anything you’ve tweeted can be saved and live on forever. That is real permanence. There are a dozen other ways to save posts from Facebook, Instagram, tumblr, Reddit, and so on and so forth. Even Snapchat saves all images. Whether you delete the post or not, there is a high probability that your post is saved somewhere else in cyberspace.

If this doesn’t seem like a big enough issue, there are some other very prevalent issues that have been intensified since the social media boom. As teenagers, we are searching for validation from our peers. In this day and age, validation does not come from social interaction, it comes from likes, retweets, and shares. This has a huge domino effect causing isolation, bitterness, and a load of comparison between teenagers and their peers.

The importance of human interaction is vital to having a healthy life. We desire human interaction and it is proven that people who are alone more often tend to be depressed. There is another factor to consider here, society expects to have an indirect connection with people. The Pope even touched on this issue saying “ It is not technology which determines whether or not communication is authentic, but rather the human heart and our capacity to use wisely the means at our disposal.” Reaching out and connecting with people is actually more powerful than social networking in this day and age because it is so uncommon. Personal interaction not only benefits your health then, it can (believe it or not) heighten your social life.

Feelings are important and can last a long time, but your reputation follows you for the rest of your life. Employers have started to look at all forms of social media before even hiring a potential employee, and that employee may be you. Potential dates go through the same process. Before agreeing to go on a date with someone they meet online, they will check all of your social media. Before you even meet, your future employer or date will have formed an opinion of you that may not even be true. If this doesn’t faze you, social media can impact your participation in extracurricular activities. Any picture of you doing something you know you aren’t supposed to be doing, can be seen by coaches, sponsors, and teachers and can put you in the position to not play for the season or have the season suspended all together. These consequences can not only affect you, but they can seriously affect your peers.

Social media is not going away by any means. It is going to continue to grow, change, and enhance our connections around the world. Even so, this doesn’t give us permission to forget about the humans around us. We need to interact with humans to not only have a healthy social life, but to be physically healthy as well. Anything that is posted online has the potential to live on forever, which can (and quite possibly will) follow you through life forever. My view on this situation; take the time to put your phone down, enjoy what is happening around you, and be you, but better.