My Deal with Social Media

I’m not big on social media. There is something about sharing yourself online that I’m not particularly fond of.  I don’t want to share my life online nor do I want to follow other people who excessively do so.

I remember when most of the social media sites became popular and everyone including myself had an online profile. Hi5, MySpace, Facebook, and then Twitter. Back then I was a pre-teen and doing what all my peers were doing. I’ll admit it was fun then- uploading photos and watching your friends comment on them, or reading what someone posted about you on your wall. Remember writing Hi5 testimonials for people and asking them to write you one back? Or having the top friends on your MySpace profile? Looking back it seemed as if MySpace was asking us to rate our friends.

I think it was only fun then because I was young and naive. While I continued to follow the trend and get Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and then Snapchat something happened and I began to see how my mind was starting to change. What I was doing or where I was going had to be documented with a photo for Instagram or a series of snaps for Snapchat. As a type this I want to go back and slap myself from back then.  Observing so many people (especially ones on the small island I’m from) still consumed like this is unfortunate.

Admit it you did or still do it. It’s almost as if something didn’t happen, was a waste of an #slaying outfit, or you aren’t doing anything with your life if you haven’t shared it with your followers. This applies to not just going out, but also being on your grind. While both are lame, the latter is even more worrying.

I declined my social media use innately for this reason. Whether you want to acknowledge this or not, you like the attention. We’re all a little narcissistic. We wouldn’t have social media if we weren’t. There is something about people liking your Instagram photo or Facebook status, commenting under that #Goals pic, or retweeting you that make individuals feel special. Watch this video about why this is true.When it comes to Instagram specifically, do not tell me some of you are not “in it for the likes.” Those who can care less about likes or comments aren’t so bad, but that still doesn’t excuse them of overuse.

At what point do we grow out of this over sharing? I understand that the whole point of social media is for users to share what they want online but some of you are team too much, not just in what you post but how often you post. You can’t live life in the present and enjoy the moment if your first reaction is to grab your phone. I think some of you should ask yourself: what is my objective posting this? If your answer is some of the things I’ve talked about I urge you to do some evaluation.

Last night my best friend Ty and I had a conversation about being exclusive. Remember everyone doesn’t need to know how you’re moving.

-C