In my life, I never had enough people to help validate me. I had an absent father, a single mother, and people who bullied me because I was different. I was married at a young age and still never felt truly accepted in one fashion or another. The one thing that validated me, however, was social media platforms.
During my college life, there was Black Planet, Myspace, and Facebook, where I had chat rooms, IMs, and no disrespectful DMs, all at my fingertips.
Social Media, for many, is an outlet to meet people, stay connected, and be you. As social media becomes more popularized, it starts to have the reminiscence of Middle School and for some High School. The cool kids linked up, the nerds bound together, the in-between were over here and finally the outcast.
In the world of social media, you are rated based on likes, hearts, followers, and so on. How many times have you seen a “popular” person post an article or meme that gets 1000 likes? How many times have you noticed the same article or meme posted by a not so “popular” person, and that same post only received 1-2 likes? Social Media plays a hand in so many suicides or suicidal attempts. Social Media divides us more as a society by creating division between races, religions, politics, or basic human rights.
What makes social media platforms so persuasive? Memes, chatting with family around the world and seeing friend’s children growing up. It also helps provide validity for so many.
As the days, weeks, and months past during this pandemic, I am working on ways to disassociate myself from different media platforms. Social media is an amazing tool for my business, but it can be very mentally draining when every post deals with social injustice, political disputes, or videos of people fighting. At some point, it’s time to detox from the social media mindless material.
Today, it’s time to remove yourself from social media. Whether you take a break from Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, now is the time to reconnect with your mental or spiritual self. It’s time to recommit to yourself and less on social media.
RediscoveringB 