Do you even exist in reality?

In a generation where social media is the new reality, everything done and each step taken leads to a chain of serious thoughts or the fear of approval by strangers from around the globe. This has become so extreme that it is more about how Perfect what we do and how we do anything is, irrespective of how relevant or beneficial it might be. While it is also true that the social media platforms that engage such large audiences help in spreading awareness about the happenings in the world, about certain products and their benefits, about the people working towards a greater good and their impactful steps and what trends the world is following, this also shows how easy it is to influence the newer generations. Some might argue that this generation is way more empathic and acknowledging as compared to the older generations which, in fact, is true.

It shows when people openly accept new concepts and ideas, and support the new movements publicly whether it be the concept of polygamy or supporting the individuals of the LGBTQIA+ community. This in turn, in simpler words, means that the newer generations are vocal about their opinions and do not think twice before expressing them, irrespective of how the other end receives or perceives the thoughts. This empathetic side also comes with a lot of stress as to whatever an individual is putting on social media and its impact, ‘What if someone gets offended’, ‘What if I get cancelled’, ‘What if I don’t live up to a certain expectation’, ‘Why is my life not as happening as others’. The constant fear of judgement and criticism eventually leads to overthinking and deteriorating mental health issues. Most people are not satisfied with their lives Why? Because there is always the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) leading them to compare their lives to the lives they see on the internet most of which are Newspeak, thereby living under stress of not being enough, not doing enough, making an impact etc.

People are forcing themselves to do something because it is trending on the internet, or it might look good to others. Studies also show the fact that it is easier to influence the newer generations as compared to the older generation, how young minds are submissive enough to become an easier target for absurdists of things. Imagine considering certain content as cringe and then making it so viral in the name of ‘cringy’ that it becomes the vogue of content creation in the name of entertainment. What people don’t realise is that they’re providing an environment for content like these to grow more in the name of entertainment. Let’s be honest the audience holds the power over the hit or miss of anyone who’s trying to entertain, what if there was no social media would Greta Thunberg still be able to make a great impact worldwide?

Although there are negative feelings that might bubble up, one cannot ignore the fact that social media has also become a place for people to learn to accept themselves the way they are, the body positivity movement, the trends of romanticizing life, to feel the feelings of spontaneousness, to accepting flaws and to spreading positivity for others to feel slightly good about themselves. There are both complementary contrary forces to this situation while some people like to spread more and more affirmation and educate people on various sensitive and taboo topics there are also the population trying to bring down anyone who seems genuinely happy or comfortable in themselves. Recently came across a reel where people were victim-blaming a girl for the way she chose to dress, it showed how insecure people are with themselves. We’re all humans at the end of the day, social animals if you may who have emotional intelligence and therefore a tendency to be affected by negative comments. Words, whether it be negative or positive, have a great degree of impact on situations.

The social media platforms are designed to grab individual's attention and keep them stuck in a never-ending loop of scrolling through the timeline. These applications can track one’s likes and dislikes and arrange the timeline in a way that attracts them and keeps them engaged with the content, even advertisements are catered the same way. Everything is turning out exactly the way that is planned by the designers of these social media platforms. The newer generations are living in a digital reality where it is more important to update their social media accounts, rather than their peers with what they are currently engaged in or obsessing over. This might seem not so extreme while reading but it genuinely is a Trap and the majority of us are stuck in it, stuck in a loop to find a balance between digital reality, doing it from the gram’ to finding what is the actual purpose to live.

There are numerous issues as to why high consumption of social media can be detrimental and this piece is not written to attack anyone or anything, but to help introspect and realise the importance of existing in reality. There’s a very famous African proverb that “When death finds you, may it find you alive” Alive means living your own damned life, not the life that your parents wanted, or the life some cultural group or political party wanted or, in this case, the social media wanted, but the life that your own soul wants to live.