First of all, I am talking about social media like facebook and instagram etc, not pages like EC(if that counts as social media) On social media many people try to be perfect. Pose for that photo, suck in the stomach, smile even if you are miserable. That effects other people to feel bad about themself (why am I not so happy, why dont I have a flat stomach, etc). I have many friends who wish they were like somebody else, most of them wish they were like someone from Social media. And you have to know, they are all perfect the way they are. But now, they feel bad about themselfs because other people sucked in their stomach on that picture. Dont get me wrong, I have nothing against sharing things on social media. But if nobody would act like they'd be perfect, nobody would feel bad for not being perfect, that's where so much pressure from society comes from. I just dont get social media. Anybody else?
There's the social media you refer to which is what I also consider social media (purely social) and then there are forums. Forums can have a social component but are meant to be productive. Linkedin is about networking and supposedly productive but it also seems to be a popularity contest as to how many connections you have and hitting that magical 500+ number. They have done studies showing that social media (Facebook, etc.) is a hurtful thing for some people. It is a lot about showing off, comparing, polarized beliefs, arguing, and all that. Many people claim they feel better after letting go of social media. I'm glad I don't use it much at all. If it gets people down, they probably shouldn't be on it. It also consumes a lot of time.
I guess it's all about how you use it. There is a common thing among girls (mainly but it can affect other genders) to look perfect and it seems like it's a way of upping one's self esteem- and eventually it's not going to be a healthy way. I mean, there's nothing wrong with using social media, or taking pictures of yourself- but it starts becoming wrong once your "likes" and "faves" control your self esteem. 300 likes? I'm fucking hot today! 10 likes? I barely wanna go out to the store today because I'm ugly. That's the kind of thinking that will destroy somebody, and that's what I think people should stray from. But if used in other ways, social media can be used to connect with people, express yourself, and to find things you like
That is exactly why I don't like social media. I mean it sure has it's advantages, like connecting with people and whatnot, but I personally can't bring myself to like it. It's annoying to me how it holds such an importance in most people's lives. Having social anxiety doesn't help me either tbh, that makes me even more uncomfortable with social media.
I have Facebook. I have twitter. I use Facebook sparingly, and am very careful who I have as friends. I'm not an oversharer on there. Twitter, on the other hand, I relax more. My name isn't on there, it's a much friendlier atmosphere IMO and its fun. and I'm out on twitter. Social media, if used sensibly can be great. But don't overshare!
Yea I have Facebook and Twitter I barely go on Facebook and I only use Twitter to follow up with my favorite celebrities but I do like forums a lot.
I don't have any social media (medias? Medi-i?) and I'm fine about that. Then again I hate everybody so this is probably for the best.
Mayabee, you make a very good point. I have a Facebook account that I do not use, I really have not been able to grasp the concept social media. It is also ridiculous how one can become addicted to social media.
I recently discovered all that you've mentioned with social media first hand because a very close friend of mine went behind my back and signed me up for Facebook. He went through some photo albums of pictures I have took for my late partner because he love taking pictures and post some of those on that page. He did not do it to be mean or deceitful but he did it in order for me to become more social with people because after my partners' death, I became somewhat of a recluse so to speak. Anyway, after I received a few requests and messages from guys all over the world, I decided to keep it just for that. Nonetheless, it did not take me long to discover all of the misfortunes and phoniness of people that you've mentioned. I just could not figure out why were everyone posing for all of these pictures and pretending that they have such a wonderful life. There was this guy whom I was chatting with and had somewhat of a connection as well. What made me curious about him was that he posted many pictures of himself and his boyfriend whom he told me that he wanted out of the relationship because they were not getting along anymore. And yet, he posted on a daily basis, picture of the two of them just smiling and vacationing together. You just knew by the pictures that they were a happy couple which made me wonder what the hell he was talking about in regard to their relationship but he had all of the pictures posted on social media of them together. I finally bought this up in conversation one day and he responded with "looks can be deceiving...just because something is portrayed a certain way in my pictures does not mean that is real life". Ever since he told me that ....I began to see what he meant in a lot of pictures people on Facebook would post. Especially those who constantly post nude pictures of themselves just to gain likes and comments as well as sharing every aspect of their personal lives including sexual encounters with social media which I can't comprehend to.
You're completely missing the point and utility of social networking. I seriously don't notice these issues you're describing beyond normal human behavior. Perhaps you should associate with a different social circle. You're making some assumptions about people. There's also no reason for the world to pander to people's insecurities
I guess it has become worse for some people. But, before social media there were still celebrities you could compare your looks and life to.
