Five Problems With Social Media

Saturday, April 7, 2018


Look, I love a good creep session. In fact, I think I'm one of the top social media creepers ever (challenge me!!).  But I'm also aware as to how social media can suck you into a deep, dark hole.  Connections are great but are they real connections? 

My high school reunion was in August 2016 and I was genuinely excited to go.  I was one of those nerds who was shouting at my high school graduation that I wouldn't miss my Ten Year Reunion for the world.  So there I was, excited to reconnect and even connect with my fellow classmates of 2006.  Many of them I liked posts of and commented well-wishes on social media posts so I figured maybe this was an opening.

Spoiler: It wasn't.

Instead, I stood at the food table and talked with the same people I still hung out with.  Even though we were all sharing our big life moments on our personal pages that we all granted each other access to (by accepting friend requests and following one another's Twitter feeds), no one really mingled outside of their already established groups. 

It was weird.  Why are you liking a post from my brother's wedding if we don't speak in real life?  Why am I wishing you congratulations on buying your first home if we can't even wave a friendly hello?

Social media has it's issues, but these are some of it's biggest.

1. Oversharing
I remember Facebook back in the day when your status was like "Jen is..." and then you were left to fill in just what you were doing.  Overtime, they removed that and users were allowed to not only detail what you were doing but how you felt about what you were doing.  If you put it out on social media, you leave yourself open to criticism and judgments based on a bad moment you were having. 

2. Comparing yourself to others
This isn't new, but whether your Instagram is your actual one or one you use for business, it's really difficult to not beat yourself up based on what other's are posting.  At least 5 times a week on my Poshmark IG, someone posts about how they are stepping away from social media because it's messing with their perception of their own achievements.  Remember, people don't post the bad stuff (except maybe the oversharers).

3. Time Waster
Ever check your Instagram feed for notifications and look up two hours later realizing how much time had gone by?  Guilty.  We get so absorbed in pictures, Pinterest recipes and DIY's, and funny videos that we lose all track of mind.  Social media is the procrastinator's best friend - and worst enemy.

4. Missing out on moments
You're in a nice restaurant and you run out of things to chat about with your SO/friend/mom.  Instead of glancing at the menu, soaking in the general overall aesthetic or reveling in the sound of silence, you bury your face into your phone.  Glance up at any public social place (bar, coffee shop, train ride, bus ride, park, etc.) and you'll notice everyone is on their phones.  What are we missing out on around us if our eyes are captured by a tiny screen?

5. Deriving too much of our self worth from likes
You are lying if you shake your head on this one and say, "Not me!"  Who hasn't logged on to Facebook to check their latest post and smiled to see how many people liked that photo of your dog in the past hour?  Lean in close because I have a secret to tell you...it's not real.  None of it.  How many likes or friends or followers you have doesn't define whether you are a good person or a garbage person.  Just because 3 out of your 452 followers liked your post, doesn't mean you're not worthy.  It just means people weren't on or your post wasn't interesting or maybe they have no souls and don't like cats.  Either way, a like isn't a reflection on who you are as a person.

So maybe challenge yourself in the next week to really separate yourself from social media and simply socialize IRL!

2 comments

  1. Absolutely looooooove everything about this post! Social media needs to definitely be used in balance.

    ReplyDelete

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