When people lose the all important feeling of individuality, they forget about their potential as a human being. They lose sight of their passions and fall short of realizing their true calling in life. This dismemberment of the individual and slicing of dreams is what is plaguing our society today.

Somewhere along the line, we as individuals lost sight of what we are capable of achieving in life. The powers that be have made it a point to cut the individual down and make sure that we all adhere to a certain way of being. We have all been pushed down into a place where they want us. And that place is a strongly censored, chained-up prison. Sure, we think that we’re free, but to them, they have us right under their thumbs. They censor everything, from the media, and even from individuals who see past the charade. But do people really want to know the truth? I believe that there are those that do. But others are just as happy living in a comfortable fantasy land, where they believe everything is on the up and up. Those that are in power have made this fantasy land a very easy place to live in.

Nothing is closer to, or farther away from freedom, than the illusion of freedom. And those in power have been very diligent about letting us know that we still live in a free country. That couldn’t be farther from the truth, and to me, it’s unacceptable. We live in a country that was founded on the importance of individual freedom, and as I write, these freedoms are being ripped away from right under our noses. Only, everyone is too busy dreaming in la-la land to notice this. And social media plays a big part in this distraction. They know that we are too busy updating our Facebook statuses, complaining about the cold weather, or checking to see how many “likes” we got on our latest “selfies.”

But to me, this latest attraction to internet popularity is a prime example of people who are struggling to find their own individuality again. Sadly, social media does not help anyone acquire this, it only makes it harder to find. People are striving for individuality on these sites, but the opposite is happening. Everyone now thinks they can become popular based on looks or how well they compose a tweet. Attention has fallen upon the way someone presents their face and body, not on any special talent or skill.

Look inside yourself for something that makes you unique and special. Everyone has that special something. And getting a record amount of “likes” on pictures of yourself is not it. This is the trap of false recognition that the majority of people have fallen in. Because in all honesty, becoming popular on the internet as a result of being vain, amounts to no more than a mountain of crap in the real world. Get out there and make something of yourself. Stand up for something you believe in, and you will gain the right kind of attention–attention that means something. You will be remembered as someone who pushed with full force to change the world, in some way, for the better. Not as someone who got a million “likes” on a “selfie.”

And while we sit, not paying attention to what is happening in our country, those in power are stripping away everything that we now take for granted: our freedoms. So I implore everyone to set your phone down for a while, shut down Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. and pay attention to what is being taken away from you. I promise you that when it’s gone, you won’t care about how many “likes” you got on your latest meaningless status, picture, or tweet.

Alex Burt is a freelance writer and blogger: specializing in the expression of libertarian views and opinions.

On his blog, alexburtliberty.blogspot.com, he discusses all things political, current events, and especially--liberty.