Do social media define you?
Our culture has let technology become so intertwined with every move we make that we have almost forgotten what it is like to be a “real” person. We have forgotten how to have real relationships and interactions with people because of the way we have let social media take over. Many of us are even blind to the fact that we rely so much on technology.
Although most of us will not admit it, without social media and technology, almost all of our friendships and relationships wouldn’t exist. We tend to follow suit— while falling into the trap of forgetting who we are—because we get so involved with feeding our technological habits.
Our obsession with social media suggests a crucial question: What do your social media say about you? Better yet, should they say anything at all?
Cartoon by Abby Gross
Oftentimes I log on to one of my many social media accounts and see one or more people posting statuses as if to prove something. There have been countless times I have observed statuses about people’s specific passions or beliefs, statuses which seek to prove who they are as people.
You should not feel you have to post a status to be accepted by your friends and followers. You should be able to display who you are as a person by much more than a simple status. What are you trying to prove, and to whom are you trying to prove it?
The most common posts on social media are mostly about a current life situation (i.e., “who I’m with,” “my current location,” “this is what I’m listening to”) or a specific belief. It blows my mind that some people literally believe that if they post a certain status stating their beliefs, then that belief instantly will define them. For example, posting a religious status doesn’t make you religious. There is more to being a person than what you post on your social media.
Other items I see after logging on to my social media accounts are the constant interactions and life updates of those with whom I interact. I receive updates just seconds after someone has posted. It has become culturally acceptable to post mundane activities, such as what one ate for dinner.
We have let the way we operate on social media control our everyday lives. We have let our hunger for social media almost destroy our ability and need to have personal relationships.
Social media also have made their way into the formation of our relationships. We tend to use social media as crutches for building relationships. More often than not, during the process of building the foundation for a possible relationship, people feel obligated to “like” statuses and photos first.
We are all guilty of this whether we would like to admit it or not. To feel the need to prove friendships by the use of social media, before creating real relationships seems like a trap. Yet it is also fascinating to see people act as if portraying themselves in a certain way on their social media is necessary to make them acceptable to others.
How many times have you met a person for the first time and immediately afterward looked the person up on Facebook? We automatically make assumptions. Whether or not a person’s social media meet the expectations we subconsciously have often determines whether we continue to pursue a friendship with that person. This is the most inaccurate way of getting to know someone, yet we all continue to do it.
We have pushed aside the slow going “getting-to-know-you” process and replaced it with a fast-paced crash course on someone solely due on what the person appears to be on social media. Social media have undercut the natural process of creating a real relationship.
Our generation has forgotten the meaning of personal interaction. People have become so attached to media-assisted communication that it seems to be all they know. I have seen people act like extroverts behind their screens, when in reality they are incredibly shy. And with the help of social media sites, men and women have become more brazen as a whole.
What has happened to being a real person? Technology is rapidly taking over the world. Whether we like it or not, the social media we are active on define us in various ways. As humans we need to become more aware of how our social media are portraying and affecting us.
The world continues to move at a fast pace, and we must become aware of our actions now. We need to realize that there is more to being a person than the screen in front of us.
