Where am I? What am I doing? If you're one of my 500 friends online, you'll always be the first to know. My phone and laptop are never out of touching distance, so I'm endlessly checking through all my social networking apps-whether I'm having a coffee, on my way to school, watching TV... even when I'm in the shower. I have a never-ending flow of messages and updates from all the people I associate with online. Yet the truth of the matter is: I feel lonely.
I'm not the only person who feels this way. According to research, over two-thirds of young people find it easier to make friends online than it is "in real life". I'm a shy person, but I'm wired up (上线)every day, like most of my friends. On the surface, phones bring us closer together. But in reality, my mind is always a million miles away.
I often feel depressed, dissatisfied and alone. Since I spend so much time socializing online, I even become a procrastinator (拖延者). I keep postponing things that are important in my real life: homework, tasks, connecting with my friends and family members in a meaningful way. It's funny that my friends and I chatter away online so much, but we end up having nothing to say when we meet.
What is really worrying is that no one I know, including myself, could go cold turkey. I can't even imagine going without social networking for a week—think of all the important appointments, invitations and news updates you would miss! Alcoholics (酗酒者) who want to quit drinking can avoid drinks, but how do we give up our phones? After all, I need it for my studies because my teachers and classmates need to contact me at any time. So, that's the problem with social networking. We're hard-wired in, but we're more disconnected than ever.
