There's no denying that social media has changed the way our generation lead their lives, and I'm not going to condemn that fact. I think that we're extremely privileged to have access to such a powerful tool of communication and expression, and at this point, I can't imagine living my life without it. Nevertheless, there are downsides to social media, risks and flaws which, whilst we probably cannot avoid, we should definitely try to be aware of. For me, one of the most important things to bear in mind is this: social media is a selective storyteller.
When people post their albums on Facebook, they pick their BEST photos- the nicest views, the most fun adventures, the ones where everyone looks good, and happy, and smiling. They don't post the photos from the days it rained, or the day everyone was ill, or miserable. They don't post statuses saying how boring their day was, or how they sat in front of the TV all day and ate fast food (well, ok, I guess SOME people do that).
When people post selfies to Instagram, they don't post the first 3 or 4 failed attempts, where they look stupid or unhappy, or a little fat. They post that 5th attempt, where they looked tanned, and attractive and their smiles look good and their hair looks right.
We tell a selective story on social media- we highlight the best of our lives and we only publish what we want others to see. We don't generally share the times of pain, of sadness or of failure, because they might not be things that we're proud of, and we don't want them to define the way that other people view us. Yet absolutely everyone experiences defeat, unhappiness, awkwardness, shame and loneliness at some point in their lives- no one's life is perfect, even if their social media feeds seem to tell a different story.
I guess what I'm really trying to say here is that you shouldn't judge your own life against what you see of others on the internet. Social media is a lens, and through it we see only a glimpse of other people's lives, a glimpse which tends to highlight the best of somebody, and which ignores a large proportion of the rest of their life. I know from personal experience that browsing through social media can at times make you feel insignificant, boring or maybe even depressed, but these are neither rational nor necessary emotions. Make sure you don't let the limited content you see on social media define the way that you view other people, but perhaps more importantly, make sure don't let it define how you view yourself.
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| Reality vs. What I chose to post on Instagram: Bad photos exist too, they just get deleted or are never published to social media... |
