As an 18 year old girl from the suburbs, it's no surprise I'm an avid user of social media. Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and recently VSCO control a lot of my attention throughout my day. However, I'm not a big poster. For someone who learns so much about other's personal life through their various posts, I like to keep my profiles relatively quiet. Posting on Instagram sometimes seems like a big commitment, because I immediately think of how my post might compare to someone else's. I'm putting myself out there; sharing a small moment to a huge audience. I like to be sure of something before I release it to the world. Of course, there's always the need to prove myself; yes my life is just as glamorous as that other girl's you just scrolled past. Years ago I did not have this concern, I didn't worry about how my picture would be received. I liked it and that was enough. In the age of perfect "influencers" and users rising to fame through their unbelievable Belize beach pics, every day life can seem pretty lame. If "comparison is the thief of joy," then my joy levels sometimes get a little low, but I'm trying to change that. Instagram's expectations may have doubled for the fashion bloggers trying to make it on liketoknowit's page, but that doesn't mean I have to capture the perfect candid every time I want to share something exciting in my life. I've always been private in what I shared, but as I've matured I've started to realize "normal" is okay, and chances are no one's analyzing my squinty eye in that one picture nearly as much as I thought they would. I may only post once every few months, but honestly just how I like it. My most used social media would probably be Snapchat. Every day I wake up to a snap or two, and checking stories usually kicks off my day. I like Snapchat because I can use it to communicate without sharing it with hundreds of people, similar to texting but more breezy. I can see how my best friend is acclimating to Chattanooga with a quick one liner, or the funny flyer my roommate saw outside of Bongo immediately with little explanation. Snapchat is casual, it's quick, and can be as impersonal as you want. The short message space fosters light conversations, not forced or pressured. So the snaps I like, the stories I use a little less of. Just like Instagram, posting a story can seem like a big commitment to me (I'm a bit of an over-thinker). I worry way too much about how my "story" may be perceived, making me feel like I can only show the best of the best days. In addition, Snapchat feels like the biggest contributor to FOMO. The people on Snapchat are usually people you actually know, or at least knew at one point, so there is a bit of a connection there. It's hard to be jealous of a blogger going to an event in L.A. on Insta, there's no connection. They're doing things not even feasible for me at this point in my life. On the other hand, Snapchat shows the events of your "equals." Same high school math teacher, same summer camp counselor, yet they're living their best life while I'm chilling in my room watch Gilmore Girls, again. In these situations, I always go back to the same sentiment I heard a guest speaker say once in 7th grade: "You can't compare your every day life to someone else's highlights." People post their best moments, but I gotta remember there's a whole lot of moments I never see. The one social media I actually do post actively on is VSCO. I really like VSCO, man. It's like an online photo diary, it's extremely accessible for anyone to see, but it makes less of a statement. I can share my best days, my in-between days, or just my days where the sky looked really pretty. No one can see how many likes I've received, how many followers I've gained, and I don't even have to worry about a clever caption. It's a judgement free social media; it's liberating. However, I can scroll through my daily feed in about a minute. It doesn't replace Instagram or Snapchat, but it is nice to have an alternative pressure-free outlet. Growing up around oversharing and glamorizing lack of privacy, it feels like a compulsion to share pictures in some medium (which is kinda sad, I know), but at the end of the day my social media is about me. What I choose to expose and what not to is 100% my decision. My lack of daily updates may be linked to some over-thinking behaviors, but it also portrays how much I value privacy in world where that can be hard to come by. It's all just a part of my personal journey through the digital age. And hey, if employers ever decide to check out my social media, I know I'm in the clear. :)
2 Comments
9/2/2018 11:52:23 am
I definitely agree with you on the fact that it’s a big commitment, at least for us, to post a picture of yourself on Instagram or Snapchat. I pretty much only post to Instagram once every few months too, honestly. I like it that way though. Also, I would love to hang out and watch some Gilmore Girls with you some time! I love that show!
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9/3/2018 11:16:03 am
I love hearing your positive and well-balanced opinion of social media. It seems like your intentions in asserting yourself online are pure and the example photos you used are reflective of this. I tend to be really cynical when it comes to these topics so I'm glad to see that you have incorporated such a modern phenomenon into your life in a more grounded way than most people. You make a sound argument as to the benefits of online existence as well as its withdraws.
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