Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and other networking sites were mainly for the use of keeping in touch with people from all over the world when you cannot see them face-to-face. I assume that is the reason they were invented, I may be wrong.
The point is why do we still use them when we are actually face-to-face with people? Why do we feel the need to still check our phones when we are right in front of people who matter in our lives? Why do we feel the need to have strangers or distant friends and relatives to like our pictures, retweet our tweets or just acknowledge us online? Are we that insecure with our own lives? Are we that thirsty for other people's approval?
That may not be the case for some. Maybe, we just want to follow the trend and use social media just like everyone else we know.
Whatever the reason may be, the truth is all of us are guilty of this. We accept social media as a common platform for sharing what we want to share, whatever we want to share. There are no restrictions from voicing out our opinions and showing what we want to the world. Maybe, that is why it so addicting?
I could go on about how social media is important and helpful in terms of connecting with people from all over the world and sharing news and insights, but that is not what this post is about. This post is about how social media can affect us negatively, sometimes without us even realising it.
For example, you and your friend posted the same picture of the both of you on Instagram and her post gets a lot more likes compared to yours, how would that make you feel? Doesn't it make you feel a little under-appreciated? It makes you question your self-worth and lowers your self-esteem. You may be thinking this is a shallow way of thinking, and perhaps it is, but do not think that there aren't people who do think this way. This is the same for Twitter, Facebook and other sites as well.
The thing is, the thoughts we get regarding this type of situations are involuntary. It just pops into our head and then, we try to silence it by encouraging ourselves and saying things how it doesn't matter. And we are absolutely correct. Why should it matter? Why should the number of followers affect the fact that you are an incredible person surrounded by people who love you regardless of the number of likes you get on a picture you posted or the number of followers you have on a social media platform? That is what we have to keep telling ourselves everyday. Remind ourselves that popularity on social media is not the thing we should be aiming to achieve.
It is honestly quite tiring to constantly battle yourself, constantly keeping yourself in check, and constantly pretending you do not care about how other people perceive you on social media. We tell ourselves we do not care, but there will be a small part of us that keeps getting disappointed when our picture didn't get as many likes as the previous picture on Instagram or maybe our tweet did not even get a single retweet from anyone, or a post we shared on Facebook had no one reacting to it at all.
Despite all that, we still go on with our lives and try to forget, until we post something new and we are reminded of it all over again and that does take a toll on us emotionally and mentally, even if we're not conscious of it.
It isn't only about how social media affects us, it's also about how what we share on social media can easily be used against us. It is how once we post something on the internet, anyone can easily come across it and use what we posted as literally anything. They can blackmail us, they can tarnish our reputation, they can use it for other illegal uses, maybe even put our pictures on sexually explicit sites. Once we post something, it is out there and many of us do not realise the consequence of it.
Many of us do not realise that a short post regarding a fleeting moment of anger may be used against us in the future, maybe even a distasteful joke we tweeted to a friend may seem harmless until someone is offended and reports you and makes it viral, or even posting a video on youtube thinking no on is going to watch it may end up getting a lot of hate and may even be brought to court.
I am not against using social media or the internet to communicate or to get your message across, I am only reminding us that we should be prepared and be wary of how the things we post or share online may affect us in the long run and has its consequences.
We have to realise that being social isn't all about social media, we can still have an actual conversation face-to-face with people, we can still go grab a coffee with an old friend, go for brunches, catch a movie, or go karaoke-ing without posting it on social media, and maybe some things can be kept to ourselves.
It is alright if we do not post our daily activities online, the whole "pics or it didn't happen" thing doesn't have to matter. What matters is you can do what you want and just be happy doing whatever it is that makes you happy, even if what makes you happy is social media.
I'm definitely not a social media hater, but I'm just saying, maybe balance is the key.
Just something to ponder about.
Whatever the reason may be, the truth is all of us are guilty of this. We accept social media as a common platform for sharing what we want to share, whatever we want to share. There are no restrictions from voicing out our opinions and showing what we want to the world. Maybe, that is why it so addicting?
I could go on about how social media is important and helpful in terms of connecting with people from all over the world and sharing news and insights, but that is not what this post is about. This post is about how social media can affect us negatively, sometimes without us even realising it.
For example, you and your friend posted the same picture of the both of you on Instagram and her post gets a lot more likes compared to yours, how would that make you feel? Doesn't it make you feel a little under-appreciated? It makes you question your self-worth and lowers your self-esteem. You may be thinking this is a shallow way of thinking, and perhaps it is, but do not think that there aren't people who do think this way. This is the same for Twitter, Facebook and other sites as well.
The thing is, the thoughts we get regarding this type of situations are involuntary. It just pops into our head and then, we try to silence it by encouraging ourselves and saying things how it doesn't matter. And we are absolutely correct. Why should it matter? Why should the number of followers affect the fact that you are an incredible person surrounded by people who love you regardless of the number of likes you get on a picture you posted or the number of followers you have on a social media platform? That is what we have to keep telling ourselves everyday. Remind ourselves that popularity on social media is not the thing we should be aiming to achieve.
It is honestly quite tiring to constantly battle yourself, constantly keeping yourself in check, and constantly pretending you do not care about how other people perceive you on social media. We tell ourselves we do not care, but there will be a small part of us that keeps getting disappointed when our picture didn't get as many likes as the previous picture on Instagram or maybe our tweet did not even get a single retweet from anyone, or a post we shared on Facebook had no one reacting to it at all.
Despite all that, we still go on with our lives and try to forget, until we post something new and we are reminded of it all over again and that does take a toll on us emotionally and mentally, even if we're not conscious of it.
It isn't only about how social media affects us, it's also about how what we share on social media can easily be used against us. It is how once we post something on the internet, anyone can easily come across it and use what we posted as literally anything. They can blackmail us, they can tarnish our reputation, they can use it for other illegal uses, maybe even put our pictures on sexually explicit sites. Once we post something, it is out there and many of us do not realise the consequence of it.
Many of us do not realise that a short post regarding a fleeting moment of anger may be used against us in the future, maybe even a distasteful joke we tweeted to a friend may seem harmless until someone is offended and reports you and makes it viral, or even posting a video on youtube thinking no on is going to watch it may end up getting a lot of hate and may even be brought to court.
I am not against using social media or the internet to communicate or to get your message across, I am only reminding us that we should be prepared and be wary of how the things we post or share online may affect us in the long run and has its consequences.
We have to realise that being social isn't all about social media, we can still have an actual conversation face-to-face with people, we can still go grab a coffee with an old friend, go for brunches, catch a movie, or go karaoke-ing without posting it on social media, and maybe some things can be kept to ourselves.
It is alright if we do not post our daily activities online, the whole "pics or it didn't happen" thing doesn't have to matter. What matters is you can do what you want and just be happy doing whatever it is that makes you happy, even if what makes you happy is social media.
I'm definitely not a social media hater, but I'm just saying, maybe balance is the key.
Just something to ponder about.
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