Am I just a number?

A lot of people say they run this world, some say it's music, some politics, some say entertainment and some don't even know. What I have seen tear apart families, bring together long lost friends and create dramatic arguments, is social media. Social media is something teens now a days have grown up with all their lives. Knowing nothing else, teens become addicted to social media, unaware it has become a drug they are addicted to.

Facebook is known for the "likes", a click of the button that can mean the whole world to someone or maybe remind them that they are loved. I have grown up knowing that if you have over 200 friends you are fairly popular, over 300 you are popular, over 500 you are well known around town, over 700 man you are the BOMB. On posts if you get over 30 "likes" you are loved, over 15 comments are you are special. All these numbers tell me my social standing and sometimes my worth. I feel good when I know people are taking the one second it takes to click or tap the "like" button for my photo/post/status/video etc. It makes me feel important to the person hitting the button. My morning routine is a 15 minute check of all my social sites to make sure someone has noticed me, if no one has I become sad. Just as "likes" can bring joy they can bring sorrow. Comments can be mean and harsh instead of uplifting of our pride. Instead of "liking" a post of mine, my friend can scroll right past it. Instead of 30 "likes" I could get the devastating number of 5 "likes".

The ridiculous thing about this, is it is true. Every teen can tell you exactly how many friends or "followers" they have. They can tell you who "likes" their posts regularly and even tell you who posts way too much. (just a little rant right here: if you know that the person posts too much on Facebook and watch it happen all day, having the ability to complain about it, you are online just as much as that person. Maybe not showing you are but make sure you aren't guilty before stating who is "weird" or a "attention hog".) These numbers make us who we are.

So the question lingers: Am I just a number? Am I the number of my friends list? I feel my generation has forgotten two important Q words: "it is not the quantity but the Quality".

I need to remember that and maybe you do too.