Social Media: Problem & Solution

Social Media: Problem or Solution?

A rule of thumb: The more you engage with social media without a plan, the more you lose yourself. 

Look, the fact of the matter is that we live in the modern age of society, and that means that social media is always going to be a pivotal part of how we communicate, find resources, discover interests, and do marketing. Much like the internet, being that it’s apart of it, social media is a tool that can be used to great benefit. It’s one of the best-worst things that has happened within the last couple of decades. We can use it to connect and share things with others. However the majority of people who use social media, don’t use it for anything constructive or useful, which leads to copious amounts of doom scrolling and time consumption. This will be a topic of contention that I’m sure to bring up many times after this one because of the many aspects that surround this phenomenon. I’m not about to sit here and start preaching some bullshit that I myself don’t practice or have no hand in. I’m sure by now everyone knows the psychological affects of being on social media for too long, or can at least come to their own conclusions. Just to brush over those factors, unchecked social media involvement can lead to problems of short attention spans, high complacency, low self-esteem, time and spacial awareness issues, instant gratification urges, and imbalanced levels of dopamine. Our brains are consuming a vast amount of options, to the point where we can’t enjoy anything less than that. Much like with anything, too many choices eventually leads to a lack of enjoyment and paralysis. All you really have to do is scroll through a page all day, and you’ve already seen hundreds to even thousands of different experiences and ideas. While this is a great thing to have available, the long-term affects aren’t in the favor of anyone who doesn’t manage their consumption. We need food and water, but too much of those things is a bad thing and is proven to be unhealthy. Something I noticed about a lot of people on social media, is that they don’t have anything that they do outside of it. No hobbies, aspirations, or higher sense of purpose that drives them to remove themselves from it. They can live vicariously through the different influencers on the platform, as opposed to taking necessary steps to attain these lifestyles on their own. Many people do in fact have better habits with social media, and become influencers themselves that go on to inspire others or provide a service that helps other people. Others aren’t doing anything but following trends that are sometimes either dumb as fuck or dangerous as fuck. Then there’s the issue of FOMO, where everyone just thinks that if they aren’t apart of the current wave of a popular topic, gimmick, or product, they’ll be outcasted from society. Naturally, we’re very social creatures as humans, so it makes sense that people would want to be apart of a tribe or collective endeavor. However, what inclined me to write this is something that’s a lot closer to home than the broader points that can be made about social media. Namely, some of my friends and people I associate with will tell me how there’s something they want to do or make, and they follow so many people who are doing those things on social media. They themselves don’t actually strive or attempt to do those things. It’s like they want the lifestyle of those influencers but they don’t even make an attempt to actually pursue what’s necessary to get there. Instead, they choose to consistently engage with the content because it feeds that part of their brain that enjoys what they see, but also allows them to celebrate and feel apart of it through the means of the influencers. I myself have been a victim of this very dilemma. It’s almost like a carrot on the stick, no matter how much you run after it, you’ll never grab it because you aren’t actually running anywhere. Through this kind of observation, I studied myself, those in my life, and others online that reach this type of awareness. And actually, it’s not even that everyone doesn’t have this sense of awareness, but moreso that it’s hard to separate yourself from these things that you’ve built comfort and familiarity around. Most people work a typical job, and that job provides the life they have, and there’s not a lot of room to expand their energy towards other things in life, especially if they have kids involved. Social media serves as a place to unwind and forget about the burdens of everyday life. That’s only partially true, given that it also reminds us of everything we don’t have or that we want, and thus makes the more burdensome things stand out more. 

Is social media the problem with our lives or the solution? Short answer: Both. 

A more extensive look at this answer tells us that now more than ever, we can have an ease of access to things that benefit us but that same level of benefit is a double-edged sword if it goes unmanaged. I’m one of those people who thinks that life is much better with social media than without it, however, not all parts of life. Social media has managed to pretty much kill the means of normal social interactions. Things that use to be deemed as common practices through making friendships, romantic relationships, and business meetings have all shifted in nature. I noticed that people find it strange when you approach them in real life, because they don’t know you, but how else would they get to know you? More often than not, you’ll have to go through a series of conversations with them online before you have a real interaction with them, assuming you aren’t in a workplace, school setting, or community events. Me personally, I’m not even approaching people unless there’s something I need from them or there’s some general interest and curiosity about them that I’m trying to satiate. In that regard, social media helps a lot for those who aren’t inclined to those kinds of approaches, it’s quick and convenient. Though as mentioned before, it also breeds a level of complacency. There isn’t much a need to engage in a real manner with someone or something that soon, when you know that you can just access it at a moment’s notice. I’ve been very guilty of that, and it’s costed me certain opportunities or connections really. Then, that’s when I realized that the interactions aren’t that stimulating outside of the online world in the way that my mind visualized them based on social media. 

Yet, there’s so many pieces of information that you miss through speaking solely online such as body language and natural reciprocation. Something that I think we’ve gotten too use to, is the fact that even the “professionals” are on social media and it influences them out of a formal presentation. We don’t have to sit here and talk about how Donald Trump is constantly on Twitter (Not calling it X, because what the fuck?) and presenting himself in a way that is highly unpresidential. If any kind of employer had been online doing the things he had done, they’d be jeopardizing their business, which we’ve seen numerous times by this point. On that notion, we’ve created this idea of “canceling” people that are famous or popular. Not taking into account that most of these people are rich and can live prosperous lives outside of social media. In terms of the average person, plenty of people go online and pretend to be someone they aren’t, or a more elaborate version of themselves. Or particularly try to highlight moments of their lives that make them appear like they’re in an ideal life or relationship, then we scroll by and feel like incomplete pieces of shit by comparison. Then there’s this constant loop of attention and validation that starts to consume everyone to the point where they feel bad if they don’t post anything, or if they don’t get any investment from others on those posts. There will always be some level of approval that people want from others, due to their thoughts, talents, ideas, products, or services being shared. However, it gets to a point for some where they’re no longer doing it for themselves and extending that to others, but rather they’re only doing it for others to feed their fix for attention. People will post things about their insecurities and emotional states just so someone tells them exactly what they want to hear, never really trying to fix those things themselves so long as someone online will validate their feelings and justify their actions. Others will get online and share their opinions as if they’re factual and will disregard anything that goes against those viewpoints. Social media has given power to people who spread nonsense, much like its given power to people who require genuine support and that spread positivity. Negativity sells, that’s the name of the game, but that’s also why people shouldn’t get caught up in too much of social media. I like to think that I use a healthy amount of social media, I’m never there more than I have to be, and usually I only allow myself to indulge in it so long as there’s something that I’ve also contributed that could add value to myself or others. That’s actually partially why I’ve created this website, as a means to say that if I’m to be online spreading things, then why not within my own space? Of course, that means that I also have to participate in the other platforms, but I do so in moderation. And given that these days I don’t have many people in my close circle of interaction, it’s much easier to not get swept up in it all. However, there is a sense of withdrawal and need that comes when you’re ready to expand your circle of people or ideas that lead you back to high levels of engagement online. I allow myself to partake in those moments, getting what I need out of it. It’s like a deep-dive where you scuba to the bottom of the ocean with a net and whatever you bring out with you, is what you survive with until you find it necessary to do it again. The idea I’m trying to paint here is a tale as old as time, which is that there has to be a level of balance. If you find yourself engaging in something endlessly and not much has changed or provided real value, then it’s time to leave it behind for some time. It’s up to you how long that is, I’ve left for about a year at one point and it was one of the most focused driven moments in my life. I’ll talk about that more once I get to topics related to detoxing. Social media allows people to reinvent themselves for better or worse and that means that it requires a lot of responsibility, it’s something that has to be handled with care. You could have a business idea that flourishes and takes-off, or bring together people that can unite for something fun, memorable, and educational. Sometimes you don’t even know what you want in your life for a time, which direction to go, or how you view yourself. There are corners on social media that really help with these things. You’ll see many instances online that restore your faith in humanity if even for a minute or two before you get back to some kind of fuckery. Many great things can be documented that show a personal journey and you can even find yourself gaining money or offers from your appeal, and this is when it becomes a symbiote relationship. You’re engaging with the very thing that also adds value and helps fund a lifestyle. Even so, many content creators are also aware that they require moments to leave for their mental health and quality of life. That said, social media has seen many forms from its inception, some platforms have lasted and others are long gone. The same rules apply with them all and it isn’t necessary to use them all, especially if you have nothing to benefit from its excessive use. Remember, these platforms are designed to reel you into them, and it’s your responsibility to understand how they serve you or control you.