We live in a time where our focus is dominated by social media. We constantly check Twitter, Instagram, Yik Yak, Snapchat and more to stay up to date on the latest happenings. Walking around campus, I frequently see students walking with their heads locked on their phones, not noticing where they are going.

There are so many apps that we use daily in order to keep up with our friends and families. Instead of reading a book or talking in person with our friends, we just sit on our phone scrolling through pictures and posts.

We get this constant view of everyone else’s lives and how much fun they are having.

People post their top moments and top experiences of the day, so we get a false perception of what their lives are really like.

Looking back at my Facebook or Instagram, the posts only show me with my friends and family, smiling and having a good time.

But that isn’t what my life is like 100 percent of the time. Social media skews how we share our lives — we make our lives seem happier and less stressful than they actually are.

I wouldn’t often post something that showed me in a stressful situation — I post when I’m hanging out with my friends or doing something really cool.

Social media allows us to falsify or exaggerate our lives.

In only posting the good times, we forget that things get tough, too.

When I look at a Snapchat story of a friend from home, all I think about is how much fun they are having and not about the hard work they put in or how stressed they are.

These posts make us feel alone because it seems like everyone else is having a great time while we may not be or while we are working all day.

Sometimes social media doesn’t always connect us, it separates us.

Social media isn’t always bad; it is a good way to keep in contact with friends from home.

Even though we may be using Snapchat to talk to a friend, or using another app to connect with someone, we constantly use our phones.

We don’t live in the present moment.

We feel the need to Snapchat every fun thing we do, to post a picture on Instagram ASAP.

But, these things can wait.

I know I am guilty of using my phone a lot. I need to re-evaluate how much I use my phone and how it impacts my day-to -day life.

Finding the balance is important because social media is fun, but also draining.

We need to keep ourselves in check in the amount in which we use our phones.