The year 2020 was the year of covid-19 and because of this, it has become the year of social media, more and more of us are spending the majority of our time (which we have lots of) sitting online getting lost in the digital world. Social media has helped us stay in touch with our friends and families and that’s been a great thing, unfortunately, there has also been an influx of keyboard warriors who have felt the need to spread their own virus around the digital world.
Why do these people feel the need to spread their negativity around? Is it for no other reason than to make themselves feel big and powerful? this is where social media fails for me. I want to be able to spend time online catching up with my friends and instead, I’ve found myself struggling to avoid all the negative crap that’s out there and in most cases, it’s been aimed right at me.
I’ve been on a purge and after deleting and blocking many of the people following me I’ve now realized that I’m just going to be happier without the social fixes that I’ve become so addicted to. Why would I want people following me that don’t engage or they’re just after a follow back.
Because of all the negativity, I made the decision to close all of my social accounts. I ended up starting a new private account that’s just for a few of my close friends, I like to follow the photographers that I get inspiration from. This was the best option for me, keep it simple as this will I’m sure help me mentally. I have to go with what’s best for me and me staying clear of these social sites is going to help me in the long run.
I wanted to have 10,000 followers not so that I can gloat to friends and other users, but I’d like the ability to post links to my blogs in my stories. I don’t understand (well that’s not true) why instagram does this, I know that the damn platform wants you on there 24 hours a day seeing all the bloody ads so that they can make lots of money. I don’t want to be on there any longer than I have to. This is why I don’t follow many people, I want it to take no longer than 15 minutes to catch up with my friend’s stories and photos. Plus keeping your followers down to a low number means you never miss anything interesting or important.
Maybe it’s because I’m a control freak, which I’ll admit to being, but truthfully I think it’s more about accepting positive and constructive criticism from people whose thoughts and input matters.
Social media should a place to connect with friends, family, and artists its a great place to share your work with the world and of course to share personal news be it good or bad, but it should also be about sharing the work of others that inspire you, I mean why wouldn’t you do this? Why does someone follow or talk to you just to get something from you? I never did understand this. I have many friends on social media whose work I share and who in turn share my work, there’s no hidden motive behind it.
I’ve had a few people in the past that think I’m after something or I know the only reason they talk to me is to get something in return, maybe that’s them trying to get close to someone I know, I’m not going to let this happen anymore, I’m going to be more vigilant in the future and for the most part, I’ll be keeping myself to myself.
I think know who I can trust and I’ll treasure those friendships, as they mean the world to me.
I also know that I have been very negative in the past and I know that this has been my fault, I think that social media plays adversely impacts my mood and mental health, research shows that I’m far from being alone in this. Since closing all but one of my social accounts I’ve become more relaxed in myself and in my life, I’m starting to enjoy my friends and photography all over again.
Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave you’re thoughts below
