We live at a time when pictures are everything. The moment
something happens in our lives we ‘share’
it with the world. Technology has made it very easy for us to be in touch with ‘friends’. There are so many social media sites that are
designed just to bring us closer to one another, and keep us updated with each
other’s lives. Everyone is a celebrity in their world these days. And everyone has a large fan following on
their social media profile. There are the ‘Likes’; ’Reactions’; Comments’ and
so many more ways to express our reaction to the latest news feed posts.
Facebook has recently come up with a set of reactions for
us to express our sentiments. But many of us seem too busy or confused with how
to use them and so we randomly react wrongly to a particular post. Quoting an example.
My friend once updated his display picture on his page. A few people reacted with
a ‘crying’ and ‘shocked’ smiley. I was a mere observer and was wondering as to why
the confusion! It was a clear example that in spite of all this progress
technology has made, we don’t have time to actually go through what’s
written. May be our reactions have all
become very mechanical.
For many people their social media success depends on how
many likes/reactions did they get; how many ‘aww’s, and ‘omg..awesome’, ‘stunning
pic’, ‘lovely couple’ kind of comments their posts get. There is also an element of competition that
unknowingly gets instilled in many people’s minds because of social media
posts. ‘He has a better office than me’, ‘She looks prettier’, ‘They are richer’,
‘They are a cute couple’, etc.
We see relationship statuses going from ‘Single’ to ‘Committed’
and back to ‘Single’ in a short span of time. I have seen couples who upload
pictures of themselves almost daily. They tag each other and add a long
description. They celebrate their first anniversary, birthdays, dates, outings,
and other occasions in the virtual world. It’s like a live stream of their
personal moments, which they want the world (the virtual world) to see and
appreciate. We, the poor audience don’t have an option but to be a part of the
love life of these people. We are forced
to be part of their online posts of weekend plans, birthdays, dates, emotional
messages, and anniversaries. Some of us think it is rude to not comment and
hence an ‘Aww <3’, ‘You guys! <3’, ‘Made for each other…mad for each
other’ gets typed and the ‘Enter’ key gets hit!
Do we really need to be so dramatic about our lives? Do we need to showcase
everything we do? Every doughnut we eat together? Every gift we exchange? Every
emotion we feel, whether it is ‘I miss you’, or ‘I am happy to have you’?
It’s not just couples who get hyper addicted to social
media. But people from all walks of life. The baby who is just born is now the
most famous face on the newsfeed. Or the
pictures showing the transformation of the person who just started gymming. Or
the person who just learnt a new language.
And the list can go on;
So now let me get to the point that I wanted to make
through this post
I sometimes wonder how much of what we see on the social
media is actually true. I mean we see a
part of people’s lives that they want us to see. A part of their lives that
they edit, enhance, modify, add effects, add descriptions, hashtags, tags, and
then show us. Is it as perfect as it appears to be? I don’t think so…
We see what we are made to see. Believing it or not
should be our discretion. Allowing it to affect us should also be under our
control. Ours has become a world where much of what we see is fake. Not all of
it. But a lot of it. Some of the people who appear to be very successful and
happy online are actually lonely. Some people
do it out of insecurity of being left behind. The one-million-dollar question to ask ourselves is ‘out
of the 500 friends I have on my friend list…how many are actually my friends?’,
‘How many actually know me and care?’, ‘How many will stand by me when I need
them?’, ‘How many are not just the virtual contact on my list?’ For many of us, these are deep questions.
We are living in a society where people have forgotten to
enjoy what they do without taking photographs of it. They have lost touch with the joy that comes
from enjoying an experience and not putting it up on their profiles. The olden
days were slower and quieter but they were more rich in terms of bonds,
emotions, enjoyment and peace. There was
no competition about who was enjoying life more. Who was doing what. Who was
single, who was committed, who just went abroad. And so
people were more content and more peaceful.
We need to enjoy life without struggling
to enjoy it. WE need to understand that
much of the virtual projection of reality is actually superficial. We need to log off from the social media
every once in a while. We need to do things without any motive of how famous or
awesome it’s going to make our profile look…
We need to love without making a big
noise and a long list of hashtags…
We need to eat and enjoy the taste and flavor
of the food without worrying of whether the picture is good enough.
We need to get married for love and not
to flaunt it to the world. And also not to compare whose wedding photographer clicks
more candid pictures.
“Unplug and Live !!”
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