Selective Storytelling and Social Media

Has anyone else noticed the recent surge of holiday snaps and statuses posted from exotic countries on their social media feeds? Surely I can't be the only one who has been experiencing this. Between the floods of selfies and the classic 'beach leg' photos, the "at ... airport" statuses and the videos of extreme sports, I'm left thinking that maybe my own life is a little bit boring. I suppose all of this shouldn't really come as a surprise, given that it's summer and all that, but at the same time I do question the overall effect that this is having on us, as social media users.

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.

Reality vs. What I chose to post on Instagram:
Bad photos exist too, they just get deleted or are never published to social media...

PS. This was partly inspired by this photo which my friend Arabella posted on Instagram a week ago. Coincidentally you should also DEFINITELY check out her blog which is super interesting and inspiring. Link here.

Countdown to Summer

It's strange to think that it's been a whole year since we all left school. Seeing the photos of the current Year 13s' "last day" brings back many memories of my school times- both the good and the bad. This time last year we were feeling the pressure of IB exams, of university offers and the general pressures of just growing up... but thankfully we managed to survive it all (except maybe the growing up part). One year on and I'm finding myself yet again mid-exam season, however this time it's a little more chilled out with only 3 exams spaced out over 3 weeks, nothing like those 8 hours of Chemistry and Spanish I endured in one day during IB. I'm still perplexed by the fact that I didn't pass out by the time we got to Chem Paper 3. But I suppose it was worth it, in the end.

Exams in general tend to represent things coming to an end, and this year that is most definitely the case, maybe even more so that last year, in some ways. I have so many happy memories from my first year at university that the thought of it all coming to an end so quickly is incredibly bittersweet. Very soon we'll be moving out of our beloved Ramsay Hall, which has been a highly entertaining, eventful and generally homely home for the past 9 months, and although I'm really excited to move into a flat with my friends and potentially own a tortoise (the dream), I'm going to miss Ramsay and the people here so much. 

First year has been a whirlwind of new experiences and challenges, and I've grown and changed as a result of it all- I've learnt so much, from coding to plumbing (oh, the delights of engineering); but perhaps more than anything from the friends I've made and the people around me. I'm also now fully capable of navigating around Central London without a map (or an iPhone, as may be the case)- and also around UCL (which is probably just as difficult); I can survive tube strikes and I can cross roads without getting run over... which is definitely a useful life lesson.

We're not quite done yet, luckily, since we still have these exams to get through and then we have the BASc End-of-year Conference, but it now really is starting to feel like we're counting down the days until summer. I know everyone said Year 1 would fly past, but I never thought I'd be quite so sad to be leaving it behind. This time last year I had no idea what to expect from the future, and although that is still very much the case (some things never change!), I've realised that I'm very happy not knowing, since another thing I've learnt this year is that uncertainty brings with it the most wonderful surprises...