Social Media Culture
Hello,
I've been meaning to talk about this for a while now... It's the first time I can remember having a title for the post before I wrote it. So, I'm just completely flabbergasted by social media sometimes; by the power it has over us, by the precious time I spend just scrolling and about the entitlement we feel on it. Don't get me wrong, I understand that everyone has their own opinions and whether or not you're allowed to share them, you will have them. I know that. But I don't understand why we feel entitled or justified in trolling or hating on people on social media. Maybe this is way more complex than I'm making it sound so I'll try to be specific to what I'm talking about. Someone will post something, like a picture or something and there'll be comments telling them they've added weight or something. Or someone will make a huge life decision, and because we're their followers, we feel entitled to an explanation. This probably affects those with larger platforms a lot more. Granted, they have invited people into huge portions of their lives. But when they choose not to explain something, are they not allowed that privacy? Do they have to explain themselves? It's like that whole concept of if you have nothing kind to say, don't say anything. Somehow, we've taking 'freedom of speech' as meaning we can downgrade, insult and comment on every aspect of people's lives because they post them. I accept that when you post something, you are putting it out there and should be ready to deal with the backlash. But the question is, why does there have to be backlash? We won't always agree with each other, and on some matters those disagreements are important because they go beyond individuals and affect communities. But if you are not close to the person, if you will not ask in love, if you are not concerned, if you just want tea, if you just want to endow people with your opinion without understanding context or seeing any other perspective... stop using social media and get a journal instead. I don't know, I'm just baffled at the horrible things you can see written at the end of posts. Social media is flawed, but a lot of its flaws are related to how we use it.
In other news, I've been feeling really sentimental lately. I read this book that ended with the guy graduating from high school and moving on to college and it made me think of my last year of high school and how crazy it was with COVID and all. I was a boarding student and so moving away from home was not necessarily new for me with college, but you know... all those other little things that I didn't know were my lasts. I'm not angry or sad per say... just sentimental. But in a good way. It's inspiring me. Pretty sure this sounds really weird, but it's how I feel at the moment.I've also been thinking about how much I wanted to be 16 when I was younger. I wouldn't read books or watch movies about people younger than 16, which sounds pretty extreme. But that's how I was. Now, I'm entering my last week of being 16 and I'm hit with the realisation that it's coming to an end. I feel like I'm entering adulthood now (insert laughing emoji here). All of a sudden I realise I can't get back 14, 15 and pretty soon, 16. I don't necessarily want to go back, I just wish I wouldn't have spent all my time wanting to be 16. There's joy to be found in every season and I want to look for that. It's natural to be more excited for some seasons than others, but if we're so blinded by what we think will happen in the future, we'll completely ignore the great things happening right now.
School is resuming pretty soon and I feel ready to kick it :) I hope these five weeks pass by quick, but in the meantime, I'll try to enjoy them. If COVID-19 taught me anything, it should have been about savouring each moment cause you never know which will be the last.
Hope you guys had a good week and have good plans for the coming one.
God bless.
Dera
I've been meaning to talk about this for a while now... It's the first time I can remember having a title for the post before I wrote it. So, I'm just completely flabbergasted by social media sometimes; by the power it has over us, by the precious time I spend just scrolling and about the entitlement we feel on it. Don't get me wrong, I understand that everyone has their own opinions and whether or not you're allowed to share them, you will have them. I know that. But I don't understand why we feel entitled or justified in trolling or hating on people on social media. Maybe this is way more complex than I'm making it sound so I'll try to be specific to what I'm talking about. Someone will post something, like a picture or something and there'll be comments telling them they've added weight or something. Or someone will make a huge life decision, and because we're their followers, we feel entitled to an explanation. This probably affects those with larger platforms a lot more. Granted, they have invited people into huge portions of their lives. But when they choose not to explain something, are they not allowed that privacy? Do they have to explain themselves? It's like that whole concept of if you have nothing kind to say, don't say anything. Somehow, we've taking 'freedom of speech' as meaning we can downgrade, insult and comment on every aspect of people's lives because they post them. I accept that when you post something, you are putting it out there and should be ready to deal with the backlash. But the question is, why does there have to be backlash? We won't always agree with each other, and on some matters those disagreements are important because they go beyond individuals and affect communities. But if you are not close to the person, if you will not ask in love, if you are not concerned, if you just want tea, if you just want to endow people with your opinion without understanding context or seeing any other perspective... stop using social media and get a journal instead. I don't know, I'm just baffled at the horrible things you can see written at the end of posts. Social media is flawed, but a lot of its flaws are related to how we use it.
In other news, I've been feeling really sentimental lately. I read this book that ended with the guy graduating from high school and moving on to college and it made me think of my last year of high school and how crazy it was with COVID and all. I was a boarding student and so moving away from home was not necessarily new for me with college, but you know... all those other little things that I didn't know were my lasts. I'm not angry or sad per say... just sentimental. But in a good way. It's inspiring me. Pretty sure this sounds really weird, but it's how I feel at the moment.I've also been thinking about how much I wanted to be 16 when I was younger. I wouldn't read books or watch movies about people younger than 16, which sounds pretty extreme. But that's how I was. Now, I'm entering my last week of being 16 and I'm hit with the realisation that it's coming to an end. I feel like I'm entering adulthood now (insert laughing emoji here). All of a sudden I realise I can't get back 14, 15 and pretty soon, 16. I don't necessarily want to go back, I just wish I wouldn't have spent all my time wanting to be 16. There's joy to be found in every season and I want to look for that. It's natural to be more excited for some seasons than others, but if we're so blinded by what we think will happen in the future, we'll completely ignore the great things happening right now.
School is resuming pretty soon and I feel ready to kick it :) I hope these five weeks pass by quick, but in the meantime, I'll try to enjoy them. If COVID-19 taught me anything, it should have been about savouring each moment cause you never know which will be the last.
Hope you guys had a good week and have good plans for the coming one.
God bless.
Dera
☺️
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