This week I got an Instagram.
I think maybe technically I have had an account for awhile but I've just never looked at it before.
Anyway, someone convinced me that it was a good way to connect with friends and show them I care about them by knowing what is going on in their lives.
My first question is: does anyone else find it a little bit creepy that we all feel this need to be watching each other all the time? I mean "following" used to be cause for suspicion.
Honestly though, I've been surprised by how I do feel like I am caring for my friends more now. I am deliberately sending the message, "Hey. I care about you. I care about what you care about. I want to know what you are excited about. I like what you are doing with yourself."
I appreciate that social media can help us watch out for each other.
However, I think that it opens up a lot of other possibilities for hurt as well--even accidental hurt.
There are a lot of people who base their sense of worth on their social media status. There are a lot of fun things going on on the Internet that I might not be invited to. There are a lot of friends getting together without me. I think Facebook, Instagram, and other personal broadcasting stations can all too easily taint the way we perceive ourselves, others, and the reality of our lives. We start to think in terms of likes and friends and forget about doing real things like visiting others, going on a walk together, or learning a new skill because we are so consumed with watching what others do.
So, like most media forms I think there are pros and cons to Instagram. For one thing I get to see adorable pictures of my niece across the country all the time. But who is sitting next to me right now that I am completely ignoring because I am looking at my screen?
I agree with you that social media is so interesting in the way that we feel like we need to keep up with what others are doing through just looking at their Facebook page or Instagram. I wish we took more time to call people and talk on the phone or better yet talk face to face!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you! Initially, I saw a lot of pros to social media sites, especially Facebook, because I moved a lot growing up and they provided me a way to stay in contact with old friends. However, as time has gone on, I've also started to notice all of the disadvantages, particularly the tendency to compare our own lives to everyone else's "best days" that are post-worth. I mean, no one wants to post about all their average or bad days, so we only see the best of their lives and that's what we're comparing ours too.
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