We can’t deny that we now live in a world that revolves around social media. When you’re in a really nice restaurant and the food is served, what do you do? Perhaps you nudge the dish in more favorable lighting and take a quick shot for Instagram. If you’ve dressed yourself up all nice and posh for a party? You pull out that phone and pose for a quick selfie to show the world you’re lookin’ good with your self-respecting choice of a single hashtag (probably #selfie).

Instagram, with its 200 million users, is becoming increasingly popular, especially among teenagers. According to CBS News in 2014, 76 percent of teens reported that they use Instagram.

What is the allure of Instagram, and why do we feel compelled to share our life with strangers?

“I like to see other people’s pictures and I like to let other people know what I’m doing,” junior Gabriella Bellows said. “I don’t know, personally for me, it’s cool to see what other people do and it gives me ideas of what to do too.”

To Maya Amyx, a freshman, Instagram is really just what it is. Social media.

“It’s a way to stay in contact with friends I knew a long time ago. My parents pushed me to make one. I’m not very social,” she said. “I’ll probably lose interest in it after awhile.”

Personally, I like Instagram because I can use it as a source of beauty inspiration and it’s always amusing to see what friends, family, and acquaintances are doing. Not only that, but following people from school allows me to see what new places have been popping up in Rocklin. Who isn’t desperate for something new to do in our city?

Our own school even has one (@rocklinyearbook) to keep the groovy students and teachers (yes, teachers) of our campus updated on RHS’ going-ons.

Though Instagram is considered a phenomenon among teenagers, about 26% of their users are adults as of 2014.

AP Chemistry teacher, Mr. Werner is among this pool of adults. “I just recently posted a photo of the College Fair,” he said. Even though it’s a lot of school related content, Mr. Werner uses his Instagram for personal usage as well, and his account is also public.

Though social media is an on-hands form of entertainment and information that is accessible at nearly all times, anonymous sources say that they spend about two to three hours daily on Instagram or other platforms. One can see that as two to three hours of time that could have been spent with friends or family are spent being, you know, social.

So the question is, is social media making people less social?

According to Kimia Abadi, a senior, “It actually helps people become more social when used correctly, but when abused it becomes a substitute for social life rather than a companion to it.”

Social media should be supplementary to your social life instead of consuming it. It is easy to get sucked in (has it been an hour already?), but I think it’s safe to say many of us need to learn how to exercise some self-restraint.

Basically, we should use media in moderation. The fun is still there if you limit yourself, but you can use the time that you would have normally spent on your phone going out and trying the new things you saw on your feed. Go out and try that new shaved snow place, go out and take pretty photos of a sunset, just get out there and live a life that’s not completely digital.