When I think of social media, I think of portraying myself as not a way of self expression, but instead as a way to impress others or act like someone I am not. When people upload on social media, my first thoughts are how happy and lively other's lives are compared to mine, but then I think to myself, what if everyone had the same mindset as myself, and social media itself is only a representation of us creating a false image for ourselves? For me to say I do not invest time into social media is hypocritical, but from the experiences I have had with media in the past I can say that I have very much been put under the influence by it. I used to plan my life accordingly just so I could look a certain way in front of others, even if deep down it meant nothing to me. What does this mean in relation to myself? Or to society? When I think of the realistic relationship I have with social media, it makes me look like any other try-hard teenager who can't do things to impress myself, is social media slowly driving us away from self expression even though that is the entire point of social media itself? I believe that the irony in social media lies within the boundaries of it being a full circle-we post to express ourselves, but in a false sense. My relationship with social media is therefore artificial. After saying all this, I just can't stop thinking to myself when I'm done with all of my work and this is published, how I'm just going to go back to my phone and continue forcing my mind into the depths of social media. Social media doesn't bring me sadness, hatred, or any negative feelings towards myself, it just continues to put myself into a constant state of wondering who I truly am as a person. Hopefully, one day I will be put out of the eternal loop of thinking of myself in a false reality and discover more about myself as life and society progresses, because life cannot stay artificial forever.
Wow. This article gave me a totally different perspective on the media and how most people seem to use it. Five years ago it would have been hard for me to believe that any of this could be possibly true. It almost sounds like we are being brainwashed or controlled by what we see and the way our platforms present it to us. Like a generic horror movie where everyone gets brainwashed by the government into thinking the government is actually good. Obviously in the analogy the government is portraying how in a way social media influences our train of thought and how we engage. Also the way you ask questions throughout your writing makes it much more engaging and acts as a very smooth transition that enthralls the reader to want to continue.
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem as you when it comes to social media. I find that I create a false image of myself and only post the best pictures of myself in the best places. I also look at other people lives and wish I was doing all the fun things they were. I really liked what you wrote and found that it gave me a totally different perspective.
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