We all know that social media is destroying our brains in more ways than one. We know it makes us sad and we know it makes us feel bad about ourselves and our lives, but we can't (or won't) stop using it. At the end of the day it connects us with people we never could have connected with before and for that I am grateful, and ultimately that is why I will continue to use it. But then why do I use things like Pinterest? That doesn't connect me to anyone. It is because, for me, social media is also a source of creativity and inspiration, it's where a lot of artists showcase their work and it aids me in my discovery of fresh new ideas and content. I will always use social media and even if I took a break I would go back to it eventually, but I am curious to see how my behaviours and my image of myself would change without the influence of other peoples polished-to-perfection highlight reels taunting me several times a day.
A big reason I would like to remove myself from the world of social media is because I fear that I am subconsciously doing things that I believe will look good in a photo or video online. What happens when that desire for content is removed? Will I act differently? Will I be more present, and live more in the moment? I want to know for sure that everything I am doing is because I either need to in order to survive or because I genuinely enjoy it and it makes me happy. I don't want how things will look to others to be part of my thought process. Although this is never completely avoidable, as we do still worry how those physically around us perceive us, I think it is a lot harder to hide your true self face to face. You can't orchestrate your image like you can online, in person.
A huge portion of my time on social media is spent looking at other people, what they're wearing, where they're travelling to, how good their photos are, who they're with and how good they look while doing it all. But what you see is often not an accurate representation of that persons life. Would you post an image of yourself when you're feeling unattractive? Or share your daily mundane tasks? No, you share photos of yourself looking happy with friends or a selfie of you looking your best. You share a load of holiday photos not proportionate to how long you spent there in comparison with your photos of time spent at home. I don't wan't to compare myself to that anymore, constantly wishing I was wearing better clothes and lounging in more exotic places. It's not healthy and it makes me think I must look and feel photo ready at all times, ready to show the world how great I want them to think my life is.
I also think social media is heavily influential on my opinions, because everybody is sharing theirs. You can't read about a current event without there being some bias in there, or if it is from an unbiased news source, you cant help but see the worlds comments underneath it. It puts ideas in your mind before you have had a chance to form your own. I don't want to be influenced like this. I want the opportunity to consider things for myself first, create my own thoughts and opinions, and then see how others weigh in. There is a lot of people online that don't take kindly to opinions differing from their own which is incredibly harmful to young minds, telling them that they can't have an opposing opinion without being verbally attacked and ridiculed for it.
All that being said, I do still use social media as a source for news, a place to share photographs I am proud of, and to keep up with my friends that don't live close by. I do however believe there are some changes that can be made to improve our online experiences. For example I have unfollowed anyone who's posts bring negative thoughts or feelings, and people that exclusively post photos of themselves as it doesn't add any value to my life whatsoever. I am not against people who do that, however there is no space for that on my feed. I follow activists that make me feel passionate and empowered and I follow artists I love. I also have 2 Instagram accounts, one where I share my photography with occasional photos of myself and friends, and one which is private where I share everything from personal achievements and downfalls to photos of myself at my worst and videos of friends that bring me joy, which makes for a much more balanced and realistic representation of my life for my friends to see.
A big reason I would like to remove myself from the world of social media is because I fear that I am subconsciously doing things that I believe will look good in a photo or video online. What happens when that desire for content is removed? Will I act differently? Will I be more present, and live more in the moment? I want to know for sure that everything I am doing is because I either need to in order to survive or because I genuinely enjoy it and it makes me happy. I don't want how things will look to others to be part of my thought process. Although this is never completely avoidable, as we do still worry how those physically around us perceive us, I think it is a lot harder to hide your true self face to face. You can't orchestrate your image like you can online, in person.
A huge portion of my time on social media is spent looking at other people, what they're wearing, where they're travelling to, how good their photos are, who they're with and how good they look while doing it all. But what you see is often not an accurate representation of that persons life. Would you post an image of yourself when you're feeling unattractive? Or share your daily mundane tasks? No, you share photos of yourself looking happy with friends or a selfie of you looking your best. You share a load of holiday photos not proportionate to how long you spent there in comparison with your photos of time spent at home. I don't wan't to compare myself to that anymore, constantly wishing I was wearing better clothes and lounging in more exotic places. It's not healthy and it makes me think I must look and feel photo ready at all times, ready to show the world how great I want them to think my life is.
I also think social media is heavily influential on my opinions, because everybody is sharing theirs. You can't read about a current event without there being some bias in there, or if it is from an unbiased news source, you cant help but see the worlds comments underneath it. It puts ideas in your mind before you have had a chance to form your own. I don't want to be influenced like this. I want the opportunity to consider things for myself first, create my own thoughts and opinions, and then see how others weigh in. There is a lot of people online that don't take kindly to opinions differing from their own which is incredibly harmful to young minds, telling them that they can't have an opposing opinion without being verbally attacked and ridiculed for it.
All that being said, I do still use social media as a source for news, a place to share photographs I am proud of, and to keep up with my friends that don't live close by. I do however believe there are some changes that can be made to improve our online experiences. For example I have unfollowed anyone who's posts bring negative thoughts or feelings, and people that exclusively post photos of themselves as it doesn't add any value to my life whatsoever. I am not against people who do that, however there is no space for that on my feed. I follow activists that make me feel passionate and empowered and I follow artists I love. I also have 2 Instagram accounts, one where I share my photography with occasional photos of myself and friends, and one which is private where I share everything from personal achievements and downfalls to photos of myself at my worst and videos of friends that bring me joy, which makes for a much more balanced and realistic representation of my life for my friends to see.
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