In an age where media is the prime source of communication,  people spend more time logging on rather than hanging out. This can affect their happiness in the long run according to a recent study.

In an article by Jean Twenge on The Conversation, she discusses the importance of leisure time and how it can relate to happiness. In her studies, she found more teens who spent their time outside with friends or even just away from social media were happier than the teens who spent more of their time in the digital world. Twenge also found that people who do not use social media at all were less happy than people who only use social media occasionally.

It may seem that Valdosta does not offer a lot to do around the city. However, VSU holds many events for students throughout the semester. VSU’s Student Union offers a great place to hang out with friends, and there is also a game room area where students can play pool and ping pong. Also, the front lawn is a great place to hang out with friends and get away from social media.

There is no doubt that college is stressful, but happiness can be improved if people try and get away from the work and the screens for even just an hour a day.

This fact that more social media means less happiness is also affecting people over the age of 30. They were also said to be less happy because they were using social media too much, while also having less interaction with their partners.

There is no need to give up social media and all that comes with it, this is the digital age after all. We should simply use it in moderation in hopes that we will become happier because of it.

VSU offers many opportunities to get out and away from screens. This means having more fun on campus where you can be face to face with your peers.

By getting away from the screen, you can make and experience the life long memories that everyone should have the opportunity to achieve.

Story by Kaitlyn Biach, staff writer. Photo courtesy of Pixabay. 

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