I asked my elder brother for help when I wanted to write this essay. I had to ask almost five to six times if I am not mistaken, why? Because he was always busy with his phone.
I would remember bugging him, asking him how I should do this? How should I do that? All he says are a few words, “I am coming, we will do it later.”
He never comes back later, and so my desire to write on this particular subject matter grew because it is a topic that we act as though we have control over this circumstance, but, instead, we are more addicted to it. Social media may be more harmful than we account it for.
The engineering of the invention called social media was structured in a bid to foster oneness throughout the globe, I think it is called globalization. Social media has connected people of different origins and backgrounds, but the problem now is, people hardly change, and to influence them to give you attention, you have to do what they like.
Social media, a beautiful and innovative as it is intended to be, has successfully shut down the door to self-awareness, and have created a place where anybody, and everybody, can say what they feel is right, and a large number of “Followers” that swallow this information without cross-checking with themselves if this information is certified as ‘fact’.
What started fine has become the syringe that injects individuals with dopamine shots. Now, I know that humans crave attention, I believe my brother can testify, but now, the likes, the increasing rush to get followers, the stress of keeping up with trends, the pressure to continually impress, that you are doing fine, that you should be important, that you have a ‘verified’ personality, that you deserve the love, although fake and just for show, but it is enough to have people leaving two lives; in apps and reality.
Social media has helped businesses, news agencies, and individuals promote their services to a larger audience, has helped long-time friends connect after what may have seemed like eons, however, we cannot deny the fact that it has indeed contributed to the vast spread of fake news, the almost damaging mentality of pop culture, and the addictive nature of always wanting to show that you are better than everybody else.
Something meant to keep us together still keeps us apart, maybe because it was built on good intentions but later hijacked as a quick tool to make more money off people, or maybe because people aren’t ready for the change that comes with accepting other people without them being like us first.
Like my brother, who isn’t too busy to stare at a screen, social media has handicapped real-time communication between people, and have hijacked the human ability to meet new people the old and real way, but what do I know, except what I see from my favourite cartoons that show me enough to know that social media should be a tool and not a controlling part of people’s lives.
I guess my brother realized that because he promised to help me edit this essay when I had finished. We had a swell time working on it together, you see, we were present with each other, and not absent in the presence of each other, a scenario that modern-day social media habits have gradually continued to kill today.
Have time for apps, keep up with distant friends, but also live life one day at a time, at your own pace, having a mind for yourself because whether you like it or not, if you barely know yourself before entering into the social media space, people will surely show you how to live.
Social media is good, yes! But just like every good thing, it should be gulped with cautiousness because like it or not, we should be the guardians of our mental health. It goes a long way to help us shape the mindset we see life with.