We are more glued to our screens than each other.

From birthday wishes to everyday events, nothing is missed on social media. It’s like being there without really being there… or is it?

Social media is a market of continual growth. Some of the most popular social mediums out there are Tumblr, Pintrest, LinkedIn, Google Plus+, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Flikr and Reddit. Social media is used by millions of people to stay connected to loved ones, hometowns, hobbies and much more. Dailyviral.me posted “12 Insane Facts about Social Media” with No. 1 being that if Twitter were a country it would be the 12th largest in the world.

Social media can be great when used properly. Many times it’s our go-to when it should be our second choice, not our first.

When our first choice is no longer picking up the phone and calling a friend or picking up the car keys and seeing a family member, connectivity in relationships is painfully reduced.

Social media allows us to know what’s going on with the great people in our lives, but how much do we really know when many are too embarrassed to post full body pictures, or say that their marriage isn’t really all that great? And doing those things is completely fine, because not every struggle needs to be a post, but with only the triumphs on display, people become less real and better marketers.

We socially market ourselves in a way that is appealing to the viewer versus having a real conversation with a friend, which usually consists of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Through social media we are taught to hide our flaws in an attempt to be flawless and to keep the laughter rolling with the funny memes and viral videos we post, and when the tears are falling, the posts stop; for a moment you may take a break to regroup and post again once the low has passed. What’s wrong with this picture is not that you didn’t post a picture of you crying, it’s that nobody knew.

On the daily, people at dinner tables talk less and post more. Heads down responding to followers posting on the picture of their awesome meal growing cold right in front of them along with the relationship that’s waiting to feel a connection while their second picture is loading. In an attempt to stay connected we have disconnected with reality; the real world displayed before us. Maybe if we placed a screen between us and everything in our lives we’d interact with it more. Maybe if there was a screen between the girl on her phone and her boyfriend at that dinner table patiently waiting for her to glance up, they’d talk more.

Spend more time showing your face and looking into others’. Get out from behind the screen and experience life firsthand. Look to connect on the deepest of levels and not just screen deep. Your next best friend, the love of your life or the next big thing could be right in front of you.

It might cost you a post, but it will be worth it.