posts in
social media
Why It Does Matter Who You Follow
10/18/2020
Over the past few months J. K. Rowling has continued to make headlines for her shit-show tendencies. It's often brought up the topic of 'Does it really matter that I still follow her?' on my Twitter timeline. This question has been in the forefront of my mind for a few years now after some social media drama. and I have to say, yes, yes it does.
You can judge a person by what they tweet or post online, and we know that. That's why we all try to be the best versions of ourselves and that is so much easier to accomplish when you have to power to literally edit the words you put out into the universe. (Obviously when it comes to J. K. Rowling, she is a vile human being so seemingly doesn't give a crap. It's ironic that someone with less than a 100 followers (most of which are friends or family) care so much about what version of ourselves they show online, yet someone with a huge following can't find it in herself to not share hatred. But that's a different topic for a different day.) The Internet is this magical place where you can portray whatever type of person you wish to be, without actually trying that hard. Many find solitude from that, hell, I did when I was a teen. Twitter offered me an invisibility cloak while still making it possible to create friendships and socialize. I acted brave, confident, outspoken and that attitude eventually dwindled itself into my real life self.
When I want to get to know someone, I always go and snoop on who they're following. More often or not, we follow the people we aspire to be or the people who say/do the things that we secretly wish we could. A guy I was once talking to followed so many 'leaked nudes' accounts, which were literally accounts where people sent in their ex's nudes to publish anonymously. Yuk. Gag. Humans are spineless. But from his own tweets, he seemed very friendly, kind. He retweeted feminism forward accounts. I was and wasn't surprised. Since then, I always take it upon myself to see who people follow first. So, yes, if I have a snoop on someone's profile and see that they're following J. K. Rowling I will automatically assume that they stand by what she says. It's the modern day version of 'You're friends with a openly hostile racist? Then I assume you condone their actions.' It's one thing to follow Donald Trump, I get that, he's the POTUS, you kinda have to know what the hell is going on there. But just people who spread hatred, sadness, and negativity? No.
We are what we consume. Make yours worth it.
There was no real purpose behind this post besides my own verbal vomit, but I'd still love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you think it matters who people follow?
To All The Social Medias I've Loved Before
10/26/2018
I've made the biggest blogging sin.. I fell out of love with social media.
And in the style of 'To All The Boys I've Loved Before' I've decided to write short letters to all my past online loves. I've recently come to the conclusion that one cannot blog without relying on social media, whether for interaction or content. I love blogging, it frees me from the realities of life and I adore sharing little tidbits of myself along the way. I suppose I treat it as a sort of diary. It gives me a purpose. So I will continue to try to rediscover my love for these platforms, I don't have the faintest clue as to how, but that's another blog post for another day.
**This is in no way a reflection of any of the social medias, these are merely my experiences and an overly personal post.
What's your relationship with social media like? Have you recently had any change of hearts? Let me know down below. Or, you know, get in touch with me on social media. The irony, right?
And in the style of 'To All The Boys I've Loved Before' I've decided to write short letters to all my past online loves. I've recently come to the conclusion that one cannot blog without relying on social media, whether for interaction or content. I love blogging, it frees me from the realities of life and I adore sharing little tidbits of myself along the way. I suppose I treat it as a sort of diary. It gives me a purpose. So I will continue to try to rediscover my love for these platforms, I don't have the faintest clue as to how, but that's another blog post for another day.
Twitter, where to even start. You were the first platform that 12-year-old Anne discovered. You welcomed me into the Twilight fandom with glee, and no longer did I feel it unacceptable to class internet friends as real life BFF's. You aged with me, both in good ways and bad. Through my Twihard loving ways, you helped me discover roleplay and that inadvertently shaped me into the person that I am. You gave me my first online relationship of 5 years, and you were the cause of my first heartbreak. But I forgave you, because, well, you were my first. (I even forgave you when you changed the 'liking' logo from a star to a heart - and trust me, buddy, that was a tough adjustment to make. Let's not even mention when the layout went wacky.) You were the space of the internet that kept me company when I was in a constant spiral of all nighters, where else was I going to post every song that I was #NP. You gave me my first taste of popularity (kind of), with gaining over 2,000 followers in just a few months through the magical world of roleplay which added to my confidence, which as silly as it may sound now, is exactly what I needed in 2010. But then I got older, and you kind of stayed back there. I tried to rekindle our spark by creating a new account for blogging purposes, but then you went and ruined it with a 'follower' suggestion that become a downhill slope. I now can't click on you without the constant fear of having to log out with another heartbreak under my belt. I guess you could say we changed.
Instagram, you're the popular kid who gives backhanded compliments. You're my whirlwind of confusion. You tell me to be myself, that it ought to be enough, only to then show me how untrue that is. Over and over you make me wish to be someone else. But that's okay because you're simultaneously giving me positive quotes about confidence, right? I rediscovered my love for photography and art through you, and that without a doubt added to my decision to start blogging again in '15. So I thank you for that, and I want to love you again. But I feel like you've become a really great book that has some major problematic areas that I'm expected to look past, which is difficult for someone who has a problem with forgetting anything that leaves a bad impact on her heart and/or memory. Maybe it's not you, it's me. All I know is, when I delve into your world, I tend to leave miserable.
Facebook, you replaced Twitter for me after the first heartbreak. You made me more comfortable in the roleplay world, and though my world shrunk when I moved over to you, I was happier. At least for a little while. You helped me write more, and the people that I met through you helped me realise that I was more than just a character. You also hugely aided in my research as to whether my now husband was a psychopath when we met.. so, thanks for that! But now you've become an empty page that only seems to leave me feeling separated from loved ones, and well, alone. You also broke the news to me that people don't always just make reckless comments about strangers, that they can view people in their real lives with the same immoral attitude. In a way, you are the cause of my seeing people for what they really are. We live in a world of cruel comment sections, but it's always strangers commenting. When those people are people you may see everyday? It's really hard to see past that. You make me lose faith in the my world.
Tumblr, you were my secret lover. The place I fell back on to make me feel okay with being a bit gloomy sometimes. You made it safe to be myself as you were a world of strangers who never asked a question. You didn't beautify sadness,but you didn't make me feel like I was stupid for not doing the "obvious solutions". You didn't tell me to go outside, you merely gave me words that I could speak through. But then you became a place of possible heartbreak. I realised that not one person I know, whether online or in real life, knew about my account with you. And that was frightening as it reopened the forever question of "How little do we actually know about people?". If I'm able to hide in you, who else is? The unknown terrifies me, and you have become my trigger.
**This is in no way a reflection of any of the social medias, these are merely my experiences and an overly personal post.
What's your relationship with social media like? Have you recently had any change of hearts? Let me know down below. Or, you know, get in touch with me on social media. The irony, right?
Twitter . Reddit . Instagram
Facebook . WhatsApp . KIK
Youtube . Pinterest . Chatrooms
Skype . Snapchat . Imgur
...And so many others...
Social media is a form of self expression. Whether you use your online profiles to catch up with loved ones, to promote your work, or to simply socialise, it's a way of opening ourselves up within a privacy barrier. Many "online trolls" use this as a way of being anonymous solely to spread hatred. That's why so many comment sections online can be filled with homophobia, racism, hate towards females, weight shaming, and so on. People take advantage of the ability to hide behind a screen. But doesn't that still reflect on their true selves? Of course. We judge the person behind the screen, whoever they may be, as they still wrote the words they're hiding behind. And if that's so, doesn't that mean that we all are the people we portray on social media -whether good or bad? The confidence we can give off on a status that we may not actually feel within ourselves, has it actually been inside of us the entire time?
Are we all using the Internet as a way of showing who we truly are, without having to put ourselves out there and face the scrutiny of real life people?
I'll admit that I'm a social media snooper. If I know you personally, it is very likely that I've had a good stalk on your profile and if on Twitter or Instagram, I have probably taken a glimpse at your following list. Call me crazy, but I find it interesting to know what people like to see on their own feeds. Heck, that's how I've had late conversations with Facebook friends after discovering that we both follow similar influencers. How else do we find mutual interests nowadays? (side-note: does it bother anyone else when you ask someone what they're up to and they say "watching Netflix"? It's like, tell me what you're watching! You aren't just watching the Netflix homescreen! Rant over.) But because of said snooping, I've had some disappointing outcomes.
I've had to unfriend so many family members on Facebook due to racist posts, all of which I very much doubt they'd have enough strength to say to anyone in real life. I followed one guy who is a father and has a loving wife, and all-in-all leads a normal family life, only to soon discover that he spent his free time liking images of girls no older than 16 in skimpy attire on Instagram. (It later came out that he had once cheated on his wife with a girl on a chatroom, but in his wife's words "at least he didn't do anything physically". To that I ask, isn't virtually cheating just the modern way now?) I unfollowed an older family member not too long ago who spent her free time telling people with chronic illnesses that they're likely making it up. There are so many other examples I can use, but alas, I'll get to the point.. Would they of shown that side of themselves outside of social media? Probably not. Yet they're willing to be that kind of person if hidden behind a phone or if they're able to just "like". Two peas, same pod.
The bottom line is, if you're a douchebag, perverted, cruel, or a bully online, guess what? That is very much reflected in your character offline. If you're known to be funny, kind, friendly or outgoing online but hate yourself once the phones go off, you need to realise that everyone likes you for you. You're still the person behind the words. They like YOU. We haven't got a switch in our brains that allow us to swap complete personalities when we untouch a keypad. If you're racist online, you're racist. If you're hilarious online, you're hilarious. We aren't boxed in by our social media bubbles and I really think we need to realise this. The personality you portray when behind your phone is the personality you have inside of yourself. You don't have to live vicariously through the Internet to make friends that you think only like you because you "aren't you" online. You're always you. Every single thing you do - online or offline - define you as a human. So choose carefully how you want to be seen. Nothing online is ever gone or forgotten, same as the real world.
So yes, I do believe that our social media presence defines the real us - good or bad. We all stalk each other and either discover how awesome someone truly is, or we get smacked in the stomach with a feeling of disappointment after finding out that someone we once admired is actually kind of an a-hole.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING YOU SHARE/POST/LIKE ONLINE AND EVERYTHING YOU DO IS A REFLECTION ON YOU.
What's your answer? Let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear your views!
I've never been the girl to go up to others and introduce myself. I've never been the first to strike up conversation, nor have I openly asked if someone wanted to hang out. So when I stumbled across the blogging community, it seemed like a fun idea. Interacting with people who are of a somewhat similar age group, who have the same interests, and being able to do it all through the safety of text - a shy persons dream. I started my blog after a trip to Germany to visit my online BFF (See blog posts Germany Part I and Part II for details), so I guess you could say that had given me the dutch (or German) courage to go for it. If I had to come to the decision alone, I would've likely talked myself out of it as I do when it comes to most things that involve putting myself out there. Yeah, as you may of guessed, I'm painfully shy. I nod more than talk in public places and mainly stick to people I know, never really able to push myself out far enough to break out of the "routine". I could go on to explain why I'm probably like this - homeschooling, being my mother's carer, BDD - but that isn't really the point.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Socials