It’s a fine Monday morning and I’m catching up on the weekly news when I happened to run into a new issue about Essena Oneill quitting social media and it honestly got me questioning, is social media fake?
I’ve been on social media ever since it came out. Social media and I have had a love hate relationship in the past years but it’s that boyfriend of yours you wish you could quit but you just can’t bring it in you to.
Being a blogger and a social media “influencer” of some sort has taught me so much about myself in the past 11 years. It made me realize my talent, my potential, my strengths and most especially my flaws. But most importantly, it has taught me to be real to myself and to the people around me.
Sure, there are a lot of things you don’t know about what goes on behind the screen like the competition; bickering; insane backdrops and what not. But the truth is, nobody forced us to do it. There isn’t a gun pointed at our heads, constantly nagging us to do this or to do that. If we want to go an extra mile to take a nice photo, it is because it’s our art and we chose to do it to ourselves. And honestly, we enjoy it! I appreciate nice photos and the effort put behind it. It’s not a distortion of reality, it’s seeing the world through another persons set of eyes.
Social media has opened up so many opportunities for me that I never knew I would be able to enjoy- I have been given the chance to meet new people, work with brands, travel, do things I never thought I would do, eat at places I never thought I would eat at and have things I never thought I would own and I will always be grateful for that.
Years ago I feared future Issa because I thought I would have to work a 8- 5 desk job or at the hospital (which in my world is worse). I thought it was impossible for me to own my own time and live a life outside of an office and it made me really scared. But social media has allowed me to live my life a bit differently as opposed to what I had imagined and even if I find myself working more hours, I have never been happier.
Social media is only fake if you’re fake. It’s only a lie if you choose to lie to yourself and to the people around you. So maybe Essena was right about one thing, make sure about who you follow on social media.
