The Cons of Social Media and The 2020 Election.

 Over the past few months, I have experienced very dramatic changes. I can remember when I first went home for COVID last spring, I would ask my parents, "does the world just keep getting worse as you get older?" Because for me, I felt as though the more I aged and entered the real world, the more complicated the world became. They reassured me that not everything is bad when you grow up, and many great things come from aging. 

I can remember feeling heartbreak and devastation when I would scroll through Instagram and TikTok and see protests and riots and innocent people being beaten and killed in the streets of our country. It was hard for me to understand that the American people were acting the way they were. I was questioning why not everyone loved this country and was as proud to be an American as I was. But I soon understood that our country became so divided over the past few years, we have stopped working together, and have actually turned on each other and began working against each other. I have noticed more hate on social media than I have love and kindness, which is so heartbreaking to me. 

This was my first election to vote in, and honestly I felt disappointed and pressured to vote. Even if it was for someone who I didn't necessarily think was a good fit for this country, both candidates have done and said terrible things, and I believe at the end of this election they both were in it just to beat the other person. 

Social media has become such a toxic aspect of my life, I really do find myself removing it from my phone often. There was a long period of time during quarantine where I deleted all of my social media apps for about 3 months. I felt a weight taken off my shoulders without it, and I had a lot of time to work on myself and establish a healthy mentality. After the recent election, I have again removed my social media apps. I find it hard to see all the negative posts on social media right now, and would rather stay up to date with reliable sources like the news instead of instagram and TikTok. This election has done more bad than it has good in my personal opinion, and it sometimes makes me feel like a bad person for not agreeing with what everyone else on instagram is agreeing with. I feel shut down and unwanted and that I am not able to speak my voice without receiving a lot of hate. I try to remind myself to hold true to myself and my beliefs and not let anyone change my mind or make me feel bad about the person I am. I feel proud of myself and my views, and I will continue to love and support all people despite what social media says.