Now, more than ever, we are all connected through social media, but its is important to remember there is more to life than the endless collection of likes and dislikes.

“I shared your post on Facebook!”

“Dude, they retweeted me!”

“Did you see that Snap I sent?”

A life lived on social media is like this, all the time. Everyone is connected and has instant access to each other now.

One’s Facebook Feed starts to resemble a tapestry of baby photos and engagement rings, with the odd shower thought sprinkled in, for flavor.

“That moment when everyone’s got kids and you’re over here like”

After so many years of liking and disliking, upvoting and downvoting, and having the same videos, photos and memes shared with you, it all starts to lose its luster.

Do we really have to entertain an audience like this?

There is so much pressure to “always be switched on” when the only contact people make with you is through a tap on their screens.

The constantly funny, always positive, meme-riddled image of oneself is the one that has to be maintained. Everyone is watching, after all.

It’s honestly exhausting.

Give it enough time, and it becomes hard to imagine what one’s close friends look like without dog filters and “Happy Holidays” banners adorning their faces.

There is more to life than getting those upvotes. There doesn’t have to be a pretty filter over everything you see.

Rather than hunching over your phone, posting about your life, just live it.

Fight that urge to spin every slightly interesting moment in your life into some awkward comedy of errors, for a bunch of people you haven’t seen since high school.

Instead of forwarding another old meme to your friends, visit them and hang out for a bit. Remind them of the person behind those sarcastic posts about the President.

Every now and then, it’s good to just disconnect and put an intermission in the ongoing performance that is life.

And, when the break ends and it’s time to log back on, those memes will at least feel a little more dank.