Hi! I’m Lucy Scott, a Gen Z college student at CSU and a social media intern. I enjoy all things digital, and yes, like most college students, I’m often toggling between apps, messages, and playlists on my phone. I used to feel guilty about that, as if I had to log off to be “more present.”

But I’ve realized social media isn’t just a distraction, it’s where I connect, create, learn, and work. It’s part of how I experience the world, not something separate from it.

So, rather than asking how long we’re on our phones, maybe we should ask: What kind of value does screen time bring?

Here’s a perspective shift:

We hear it all the time: Social media is ruining our attention spans. Phones are a distraction. Gen Z is addicted to screens.

But what if social media isn’t just a distraction? What if, especially for Gen Z, it’s a real and valuable part of the college experience?

That may sound like a hot take, depending on who you ask. But for a generation that has grown up with social media, it’s not that far-reaching. Social media is where we laugh, vent, connect, share, explore, distract ourselves, express ourselves… sometimes all before our 11 a.m. lecture. It’s not something that separates us from real life. It is real life, just lived through a different kind of lens.

Redefining “wasting time”

There’s an ongoing belief that time spent on your phone is unproductive or a waste of time.

But Gen Z sees that differently.

A group FaceTime to talk through a stressful week? Worthwhile.

A TikTok spiral that leads you to new music, your next big idea, or a niche interest that makes you feel seen? Still meaningful.

Scrolling TikTok and stumbling on someone talking about the exact post-grad fear you couldn’t put into words? That’s not a waste, that’s reflection.

Sure, we scroll. And sometimes it’s a mindless scroll, something I’m guilty of myself. But often, it can be much more than that. Just because something happens through a screen doesn’t mean it’s not real. And just because it doesn’t look “productive” doesn’t mean it’s not doing something.

What counts as “real life,” anyway?

People love to say “go touch grass” like it’s the ultimate fix for phone addiction, which is especially ironic, considering that phrase is literally trending on social media. And yes, being offline definitely matters. Taking breaks from screens, stepping outside, and being fully offline absolutely has value. But in college, it’s often more of an ideal than a lived reality. It’s entirely possible to care deeply about your real life and still love your digital one. They’re not in competition.

Presence isn’t just about where your feet are, it’s about where your mind is. And sometimes, being on your phone is being present. Present when you send a “thinking of you” text to a friend going through something hard. Present when you hype up your roommate’s outfit in the group chat before their big interview. Present when you watch your best friend’s story from across the world and feel just a little closer to them.

We don’t live two separate lives, one on-screen and one off. It’s all one life. The playlist you made after a hard week? That’s part of how you processed it. The post you saved because it gave you the words you didn’t know you needed? That’s part of how you understood yourself. A photo dump. A DM. A TikTok comment thread that made you laugh out loud. None of it is less real just because it happened through a screen.

We make plans through apps. Share ourselves through captions, playlists, and late-night voice notes. We hype each other in comments. We stay informed in real time. We connect constantly.

It’s not always a distraction or disconnection. It’s presence, community, and that’s real life.

 

It’s not about logging off

We don’t need to log off to live our lives. We just need to stop pretending we’re not already living them, fully and intentionally, online and off.

This doesn’t mean we’re all perfectly healthy phone users. I’m certainly not. Most of us have probably had moments where we felt worse after being online. But maybe the answer isn’t always “less screen time.” Maybe the answer is being more aware of what feeds us and what drains us.

There’s pressure to unplug and romanticize a pre-phone life, but unplugging isn’t necessarily the only path to being present. Especially in college, where we’re building friendships, managing stress, and figuring out who we are, being online is part of how we stay connected and grounded. For my generation, the screen is part of our real life. And that’s not something to feel guilty about, especially when both our online and offline worlds often live side-by-side.

Presence isn’t about screens or no screens — it’s about connection. And in today’s world, that connection happens both online and offline because both are part of our real, everyday lives.