text: Awakening to the sound of my phone buzzing always warms my heart: this morning was no different. Trying to shake off the brain fog that accompanies an eleven hour snooze fest, I reach for my phone. Every morning the same. I tell myself, “This’ll be the last time I look at my phone first thing in the morning” or “I’ll just check my emails and make sure I’m not missing anything”. My eyes struggle to stay open at the screen’s brightness, slowly searing the repetitive pictures of social media into my retinas. Another perfect start to my day. After scrolling through picture after picture of lame jokes, half-naked models, and other edited versions of reality, I finally get around to my email, hoping for something to make my day interesting. Alas, nothing. Stumbling to the restroom I commence my glamorous morning routine of taking a dump, washing my hands, and brushing my teeth. Currently there’s a fad of “morning routine’s” on the internet showcasing how awesome people are at their meditation’s, journaling, and morning yoga. Any simple youtube search of “... morning routine” will pull up a thousand videos from college students to athletes to mathematicians, all somehow waking up at 04:00 AM. Everyday I am thankful for their endless supply of advice, who knows where I would be without their input. Making my way to the dining table I set myself up for the second disappointment of the day. Instead of going for the heart healthy oatmeal or breakfast salad, I grab ol’ reliable... a bowl of cereal. In between bites of my Honey Nut Cheerios, it’s only natural to grab my phone and scroll through more social media. After all, everyday is so different, women with different bathing suits in different parts of the world, new exotic cars, new luxury watches, new memes. That is until you start to question what you’re looking at. I’ve been a lifelong fan of fantasy/fiction entertainment. Ever since I was little, reality has been so boring. Why would I want to be in this world, when I don’t even have super powers? Gradually as I aged, so did that ideology, and I have learned to embrace reality. Except there’s one hidden fantasy that no one seems to address: social media. Historically, people underestimate the power of pop culture. The lyrics of the music we listen to, the messages of the movies we watch, and the endless supply of entertainment at our fingertips can prime our subconscious for making decisions about how to deal with our problems or how to spend our Friday nights. If one were to learn about life from American pop culture, then said person would be waiting every day for a spider to bite them, a stranger to take them on a journey, or for their crush to ask them to the school dance. Thankfully, the majority of these examples are obviously gassed up versions of reality, and most people don’t transition these lessons to their lives. A gassed up version of reality however, that is indistinguishable from true reality, is exceedingly dangerous. This is social media’s true face. Planting unrealistic ideas in the heads of our society, our youth, and the impressionable is a moralistic crime that leads to millions of consumers feeling inadequate, unhappy, and jealous of a false world. New progressions, such as easily accessible internet, high quality cameras, and platforms for broadcast are arming people with weapons they do not realize they have.