Kuala Lampur, July 26 -- Now that our phones are always within reach, our notifications never stop, and our screens follow us everywhere, I have a question for the culture. When did being constantly connected become something we accepted as normal?

As a student, I find myself surrounded by social media every day. The first thing I do when I wake up is check my phone. Before I sleep, I scroll through TikTok, Instagram, X, or whatever platform is trending at the moment.

Sometimes I tell myself I will only spend five minutes online, but somehow an hour passes without me noticing. It makes me wonder whether I am using social media, or whether social media is using me.

Social media was created to connect people. It allows us to communicate ...