I relate so much to your statement about our profiles being "perfect encapsulations of idealized bodies". When social media with snapchat, instagram and tumblr were new and I myself a whole lot younger, I thought it was great to connect with people. I as well tried to be someone I wasn't but realized early on that I don't get that much joy of it like friends of mine back then. I tried to fit into a certain niche that was based on a fluctuating trend. If that means posting pictures with dog face filters or highly edited pictures off of picsart, retrica etc. then sure, why not? I seeked for validation, acceptance and belonging. For my special niche or trend which I then found in things like book girl, vinyl girl or arctic monkeys girl.
But in the last time I needed to take more and more breaks off of social media as it was keeping me from the "real" world, from real friendships - and in particular from the real me. What was once shaping my own unique personality was now destroying it with trends changing quicker than my eyes can blink.
Great text Madison! I truly believe that if we are not able to connect anymore we won't ever be able to change anything. No hope for the climate disaster or any chance of a better future. When I mean connect is get together physically and be present. Talk and work things out through our differences.
I have such a similar story Kali! For me, the major boundary was deleting Tik Tok off my phone and heavily restricting Instagram. It’s so strange that doing that really made me feel like I “woke up” somehow, as if I was just sleeping through life before. I’m glad that you found something in this that resonated with you.
I relate so much to your statement about our profiles being "perfect encapsulations of idealized bodies". When social media with snapchat, instagram and tumblr were new and I myself a whole lot younger, I thought it was great to connect with people. I as well tried to be someone I wasn't but realized early on that I don't get that much joy of it like friends of mine back then. I tried to fit into a certain niche that was based on a fluctuating trend. If that means posting pictures with dog face filters or highly edited pictures off of picsart, retrica etc. then sure, why not? I seeked for validation, acceptance and belonging. For my special niche or trend which I then found in things like book girl, vinyl girl or arctic monkeys girl.
But in the last time I needed to take more and more breaks off of social media as it was keeping me from the "real" world, from real friendships - and in particular from the real me. What was once shaping my own unique personality was now destroying it with trends changing quicker than my eyes can blink.
Thank you so much for sharing!! Once we are able to step into the “real” we can really start living full lives, I’m a firm believer in that!
Have you read this? related to your article, you'll like this one, "The big idea: why relationships are the key to existence" https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/05/the-big-idea-why-relationships-are-the-key-to-existence
I haven’t read it but on first glance, looks very applicable to what I’m discussing here! Looking forward to reading more, thank you for sharing!
Great text Madison! I truly believe that if we are not able to connect anymore we won't ever be able to change anything. No hope for the climate disaster or any chance of a better future. When I mean connect is get together physically and be present. Talk and work things out through our differences.
I agree Luiza, connection is so important! That’s really what everything comes down to!
another brilliant one!
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I really relate to this! Such a great post capturing the complexities of social media. Love your writing!
Thank you so much for reading Summer! :) I always appreciate hearing your thoughts!
On of your best !
Thank you :)
I have such a similar story Kali! For me, the major boundary was deleting Tik Tok off my phone and heavily restricting Instagram. It’s so strange that doing that really made me feel like I “woke up” somehow, as if I was just sleeping through life before. I’m glad that you found something in this that resonated with you.