Let’s face it we live in a world where we are more likely to smirk, smile and internally chuckle to ourselves over a Facebook post or Instagram photo upload than smile back at that stranger smiling at us as they scan our groceries or brush past our seat on transport. Ultimately our social activity feed is just way more intoxicating than human interaction or stretching more muscles on our face that may actually delay the ageing process if we did catch that person’s eye and mimic some mannerisms of reception back at them.

But do likes, Insta hearts, a re-tweet or a comment really contribute to our happiness or is it our latest tabloid addiction? One where those we know or would like to know within our social networks are our latest overdose of Lindsay Lohan and that shameless child known as command Suri?

Don’t get me wrong I’m one of the biggest advocates for social media, I’ve worked with the medium professionally for over five years now and on a personal level am probably one of the worst offenders in terms of the amount of content I share across my social networks on a daily basis. Yet for me, it’s not so much about the like but more the engagement, I aim to share content whatever form that will instigate engagement from those who are in my life now and those who are still part of posse but now live on distant shores.

My 28^th birthday recently was a clear indication of this; I received numerous posts from friends that I have known over the past 28 years from all corners of the globe. Yet while some I just simply liked there were many that instantly instigated interaction. They brought back memories of DJ-ing it up on a dance floor with your #1 PR gal CC, they reminded you of that drunken first date you had with that adorably dimpled summer romance, Chris and when you piggybacked the petite Brit across Grey Lynn Park and some even viscerally took me back to laying in Miss Barlow’s bedroom with the Polyphonic Spree pumping, balloons filling our mouths and the eudemonic freedom that we once shared on a regular basis as an escape from the daily grind.

So if social posts can do this and if an Instagram upload can provide you with a permanent memory of that day, the people you were with that night or the energy felt in that environment at that time, doesn’t social media clearly promote increased sensations of happiness for us all?

For most it does, yet for the demographic known as the ‘social adolescent’, ‘social divorcee’ and ‘social spinster’ the happiness that we’re all prone to share when we achieve greatness, cement a new milestone or begin a new foreign travel adventure; often highlights the holes in the their world. For the ‘social divorcee’ and ‘social spinster’ in particular baby photos, wedding photo’s, anniversary photo’s and holiday snaps become the nicotine tar of their activity feed and as for the social adolescent. Well, they’ve got the worst social deal out of us all, because the social bully can now dominate the playground with the power of their fingertips 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

It’s a known fact that globally 70% of students see frequent bullying online daily, 80 % of teens use a cell phone and 81% of teens think bullying online is a much easier act to get away with, and as for girls well their twice as likely to be the bully and the target. But with all this awareness of social bullying and its impact on the mental health of modern adolescents, why aren’t we doing more to stop this?

I know from the shared experiences I’ve heard from colleague’s children, cousins children and other teens that I interact with, that social bullying is one social epidemic that does need a solution and while my contribution to offering a solution to reduce this problem may only be in the very early pre-production stages of its evolvement and will no doubt face a string of government, department of education and privacy issues during its development. I am determined to promote the flipside of social media, assist teens who can’t escape the taunts of it and educate youth that whilst this social platform will undeniably be a crucial tool in their life for learning, sharing and keeping connected with those in their sphere. They do need to know the ‘codes of conduct’ and there do need to be repercussions for those who abuse the rules of the ‘social’.

Whether the social universe is a domain that brings a smile to your dial in that 10-minute window when you get to step outside the office. Whether it acts as a mental memory bank for you or breeds frustration on a daily basis. Wouldn’t you still rather be connected with those who you do actually give a f#$k about then disconnected from their lives altogether?

Written by Samuel Elliot Snowden