What do you think?

[anthrovane]

Is social media a mask?

Does our involvement in social media hide our naturalness and bring out aspects of ourselves that are not necessarily "real"? I'm struggling myself to answer this question. I think for me it kinda does. The way I present myself on social media is always with a thought of looking pretty/ hot, being presentable while also being professional, not sharing too much about my life while also not holding too much back, connecting with people who I'm not too close with but who I follow or who follow me. I feel like theres so much to think about - is this because I'm caring too much about what people will think of me? I don't want to portray myself as something other than I am but in a way social media brings that out of me. Maybe there's too many "standards" to keep track of? I feel that a lot of the time social media is so saturated with "fakeness". Don't get me wrong social media can be useful and beneficial in so many ways but I think there some sort of barrier that the screen we sit in front of holds that makes us feel free to be whoever we want online that often we portray someone who is far from our true selves.

Looking for some opinions on this. What do you think?

 

[shellygrrl]

Social media (mainly thinking of Instagram and Facebook, not so much Twitter) is generally a highlight reel from maybe one percent of someone's life. You are very likely not the only person who thinks the way you do.

And let's also keep in mind people these days can make a living from posting content on socials, and those who aspire to do that are wanting to be as careful as possible with their self-image online.

Personally, I came of age when online journaling (what would be called personal blogging now) was a thing, back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and there was no social media as we know it now. (I don't think Myspace ever got to the point where Facebook and IG are at now.) I think there was a lot more honesty back then. (Not to mention way less advertising!) They weren't writing for likes or for attention (even though they had and found a readership). They just wanted to share snippets of their lives and their feelings.

 

[anthrovane]

Social media (mainly thinking of Instagram and Facebook, not so much Twitter) is generally a highlight reel from maybe one percent of someone's life. You are very likely not the only person who thinks the way you do.

And let's also keep in mind people these days can make a living from posting content on socials, and those who aspire to do that are wanting to be as careful as possible with their self-image online.

Personally, I came of age when online journaling (what would be called personal blogging now) was a thing, back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and there was no social media as we know it now. (I don't think Myspace ever got to the point where Facebook and IG are at now.) I think there was a lot more honesty back then. (Not to mention way less advertising!) They weren't writing for likes or for attention (even though they had and found a readership). They just wanted to share snippets of their lives and their feelings.

Thank you so much for your reply! You raise some great points.

 

[toupeemoor]

You’ll need to spend some time evaluating whether social media is doing more harm or good for you, personally. If you feel there are more negative consequences than positive benefits to using a specific platform, consider uninstalling it or temporarily deleting it for a week. Detaching completely from social media can be hard, but it can also have enormous positive benefits.

 

[anthrovane]

You’ll need to spend some time evaluating whether social media is doing more harm or good for you, personally. If you feel there are more negative consequences than positive benefits to using a specific platform, consider uninstalling it or temporarily deleting it for a week. Detaching completely from social media can be hard, but it can also have enormous positive benefits.

I agree. I've been thinking of doing this and it just might be the solution I need to reflect on both the positives and negatives that social media brings to my life.