Today, as I was reflecting on modern society and our generation as a whole, I came to realize an unfortunate truth. Quite ironically, as I am indeed currently staring at my computer screen typing this, I realized with the ever-growing mass influx of technology presented at our fingertips daily, we no longer value genuine personal connections or living in the moment. This is what is often missing in today's culture and society. With endless forms of communication, social media, snapchat streaks, and more, the generation of today cannot get out of this blurring between reality and what is being shown through technology. The countless hours spent obsessing over likes, followers, comments, who responded to your snapchats, messages, or dms, and so much more can all attest for this escalating problem. Now, I'll be the first to admit, I am in every way a follower of this. Especially being a blogger, I try extremely hard to grow my social media platforms. It comes with the job. Do not get me wrong, forms of social media have their benefits, but also come with a multitude of disadvantages. The pressure to make your life look perfect, to make yourself look perfect, with a constant smile and certain happiness, is absolutely overwhelming at times. The truth is, moments are not always picture perfect. Nonetheless, it is important to live in the moment. Live through the good and bad times, without always having this need to advertise what you're doing, or show off how much "fun" you're having. The fun comes from being present and enjoying time spent with friends, with family, and alone. Sometimes, we all need to step back, away from our life behind the screen, and actually LIVE and ENJOY it for ourselves. We are always so quick to jump at the opportunity to share everything with the rest of the world that we often forget to savor the beautiful and raw that no picture can ever truly portray. With social media and technology comes the over-analizing of anything and everything. Why does this person have more followers or likes than me? Why did they not respond to my snapchat or text? Why do they seem so much happier than me?
Here's the thing: first off, social media is all about posting what you know other people will like. You pick the hottest picture, the one you look the skinniest in, or the one with all your best friends you want to show because "look at how much fun we're all having and how many friends I have!!" The people who know how to mold their profiles to what others like to see are the ones with the followers and likes. But you know what? Post whatever the hell you want without a single ounce of regret and stop caring if it gets less likes, or gains you less followers. It's not a bad thing to post something you really like and want to share, because again, social media can be an excellent way to be creative, share ideas, or save a moment even in a picture. Do it for yourself. I personally have a goal for myself to start posting more pictures that I want to look back on as memories, but also occasionally put my phone down around my friends and just be in the moment and fully engaged, without the picture evidence to prove it to everyone else. Now onto the second answer. When it comes to snapchat, text, dm, or anything else, the worst thing to do is overanalyze who talks to you or how/what they respond or if they even respond. You don't know what's going on with those people at that very moment in time or whether they're just busy or don't feel like sending you a snapchat everyday because they have to, to save a streak. Some of these forms of communication are pointless because the communication is not even there. I personally much prefer a real conversation over any of these forms of communication because they are just the easy way out. Yes, it is fun to talk to new people and have new conversations over text/other platforms, or to even just send a few snapchats to someone new, but if there is no face to face interaction how can you really get to know someone? Instead, pick up the phone or get together with some friends and have real, meaningful conversations, in real life. With real communication. Live and learn from the people you're surrounded by and truly appreciate them and the value they bring to your life. Those connections are the true ones. Finally, the overhanging truth, even if no one will admit it, is that for the most part social media can get a bit fake or showcase only the good parts of life. Only the ones you want people to see. Real life is not that picture. In the real world, you may have been in a bad mood forcing a smile, or on the opposite side of the spectrum, dying of laughter with your best friends and being weird, awkward and having a blast. No one will ever know because that posed picture gives no insight to the moment except how good you are at flashing those pearly whites and posing before the flash. You may be in an amazing place in your life, or you may be secretly falling apart and no one will ever know. It is as if we pressed the edit button on our lives and quickly deleted all the bad. The downside to social media is the notions we all put in our heads that everyone lives their most perfect lives, and we are the only ones who experience imperfection and rough patches. It is nice to open social media and see everyone experiencing life so positively, but there are simply hidden truths behind it all that everyone must remember. After all, we are all human.
It's indisputable, this generation does not have it easy. Everything is at our fingertips. We grew up with pur phones in our hands, always checking up on others and the way they live their life, spending more time investing in theirs than ours. So, I encourage everyone (including myself) to go live one day for themselves. Drop the phone, get some of your favorite people together (or go at it alone, whatever is right for you) and go ENJOY your time in the present. Have more meaningful conversations, explore more beautiful places and actually see them, and live. Smile for yourself, enjoy for yourself, live for yourself, and remember: nothing and no one is perfect, and there is beauty in that.
Carpe diem, loves.
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ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with you! But for me social media is the only way to keep in touch with my boyfriend. He moved to the other city and would live there for 2 months. That’s why I use Instagram and Snapchat several times a day to share moments of my daily life with him. Besides, I use https://www.hoverwatch.com/hidden-phone-tracker to monitor his sms, calls, web activity to be sure I can trust him even being on a long distance.
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