How Social Media Has Changed Us

Changed might be the wrong name for this post. Maybe it was there before but we just never noticed it, or maybe social media has brought out a side of us and just exaggerated it. But I’m sure that I don’t remember people being so in-your-face before. I don’t remember this much bragging going on. Is that true? Or was it just easier to ignore then? When it was just coming from someones mouth it was easier to zone it. Now, it’s all over our phones. Every platform we are on, it’s there. You’ve posted the same image over Instagram, Twitter and Facebook just to ensure that every person in your life has seen it.

Now, don’t get me wrong. We’re all guilty of it, we all have given in to it and now document most aspects of our life. Granted, some worse than others but recently it’s really started to get to me. It’s really started to annoy me way more than it did before. I can’t go out for lunch with my friends without one of them putting up a picture of what we ate. When did that become so important? Why does everyone need to know every minute of your day?

Instagram is now a really irritating one for this. It’s now become everybody’s blog – they update their followers like they are a fan base. It’s so superficial and so frustrating that I now search for posts that look at least a little genuine, like that person isn’t just putting that on for show, but actually because they just like that photo and want to share it. There are little numbers of genuine desire to share, and more and more of just showing off.

Holidays just illustrate this. I have never seen so many people post pictures of their Christmas presents, until this year. When did that become so impersonal? It used to be about spending it with your family, thought over price – now what, if your boyfriend didn’t get that Michael Kors watch for you, you won’t have anything to post? It’s crazy. But it’s true. I see it in everyone.

I have friends who have posted a picture of themselves at the gym, taken months ago, and yet repost it today just because they forgot to take a picture of it that day, and couldn’t possibly not document that moment in life.

It’s stupid. How ridiculous does that sound? But then look at yourself. How many times have you gone to post a picture or a tweet but haven’t done it because it’s not “interesting enough”, or you have actually posted something just to prove a point. You hate that picture of you from last night, but you post it anyway just so everyone knows you weren’t sat in waiting to find out who killed Lucy Beale (guilty).

I think my problem with it lies within the fact that I find it all fake. I find that people feel forced to post something to prove their existence, or prove their worth. ‘OMG, you don’t have Facebook? Where do you post that you went for a cheeky Nandos?’ springs to mind. It’s funny, I know. But at the same time it’s scary. I feel that we’ve lost a sense of life, whilst trying to desperately to show that we have one. We can no longer wish our Mum’s a happy Mothers Day without posting it everywhere so that the world knows that she's ‘the best mum in the world’.

Nothing feels genuine. I hate the feeling that someone is posting something for me, when it’s actually for the sake of their followers.

Kirsti x 

Why Social Media Is Talking You Out Of A Night In

It's Friday night and you're sitting in your pjs with a dominoes feeling like you should be in heels and a tight dress, like the other 90% of people your age. It's strange because you're not having a bad time, quite the opposite actually you're having a fabulous time, but you've looked through Instagram and seen a million 'out out ' posts, and every 5 seconds you receive a new drunken Snapchat and you can't help feel as though you are missing out. You're boring. You are not going to have anything to post on social media in the morning, and the world is going to assume that you have no life. 

When did enjoying yourself become so centred around how you are perceived by others? You can bet your life that you are happier in a baggy tee with pizza in one hand and a tea in the other, than you would be with your toes squished and ankles awkwardly arched, while you stumble around sucking in your belly because your dress is too tight. So why do we do it? We can't even count the amount of times we've forced make up on, and every sip of alcohol has been a struggle, but the fear of missing out has won again.

No snapchat story of us dancing with a drink? No overly posey selfie with a caption telling everyone what club we are going to? No hungover Sunday status about how we are 'never drinking again'? Oh no that just won't do. 

We live in a world where posting about a night out is more fun than the night itself. Where we can never do what we would rather be doing because that's not interesting to others. A night out is not a night out if it hasn't been posted about, and most of the time is spent focused on how the night will be documented best. 

Going out is no longer for fun, it's to have something to update, it's to create an interesting online existence. Dresses can't be re-worn because they are posted for all to see, and you can't be drunk and embarrassing without the whole world being in on your antics. Your night is shared with the everyone, and you better hope it's good enough to keep your social networking the perfect representation of your life. 

Ok ok we could moan about social media all day, but I guess the point is do what you enjoy, not what is enjoyable for viewers to see. Stay in on a Saturday with a takeaway and old episodes of Gavin & Stacey, the beauty of social media is that it's not real, so you can always upload a throwback and pretend you were 'out out ' last night.