Social networking takes up a huge amount of my life; I am constantly scrolling down newsfeeds, updating my statuses, posting images and checking in at different destinations. Allowing everyone to know what I am doing and when I am doing it. A lot of my life is posted online, I upload images of my nights out, I write tweets about what happened and I even attach a location to show what club or bar I went to. I began to think why I do this and I realised it’s because I am surrounded by it, my friends contact me through social networks, my newsfeeds are covered in photos and statuses of what people are doing, so I suppose I join in as it has become a social norm to do this.
What I also find interesting is how important social media is for people on special occasions, for example birthdays. I love receiving ‘happy birthday’ posts and photos on my Facebook wall. I prefer to have a photo with an emotional message attached rather than receiving a generic birthday card. Other people however seem to feel differently, this was evident on Mother’s Day, many of my friends on Facebook and Instagram posted pictures of their mothers and attached a loving message. I saw so many angry tweets with people saying “respect to the people who told their mothers in person how much they love them, rather than telling Facebook”. It seemed many had an issue with people using social media to broadcast their feelings on special occasions.
I also find myself uploading images on Instagram of my outfits and makeup, I then allow the comments and likes to determine how good I feel about myself. If I don’t receive any likes on photos I will remove them almost out of embarrassment. I also find myself looking at other people’s Instagram and becoming envious of how great they dress and how wonderful their makeup is.
Although it may be hypercritical to say I know when I am a parent I will not want my children posting their location and personal life all over the internet due to how dangerous it can be. Luckily I myself have never experienced a negative backlash, however I have seen bullying on social media and have had a number of friends that have had their pages copied with people using their images and pretending to be them on sites such as Twitter. Situations like this do make me paranoid and I am careful who I accept on social media websites, if I have a slight doubt about a new follower or friend request I will block them.
It is very strange that I and many others feel the need to broadcast our lives on social media. Some things people post I believe are far too personal and should be left off social media. I will always keep my personal life and problems off social media, I only chose to share things I would like others to know and see, it seems broadcasting your life is now completely normal.
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