Lost in Social Media

I've been thinking about writing on this field over the past few weeks as it has become something that I have become more and more aware of. Social media has taken over our lives, whether we accept it or not. Meals can no longer be eaten without being Instagrammed, films cannot be watched without being people notifying Facebook about it, headaches and illnesses cannot be silently gotten over without pouring out someone's downfall all over Facebook, and the notion of private family photo albums have almost been binned with new relationships, engagements, pregnancies and baby baths being put on social media sites for all to see. Before anyone says anything, I know that I am guilty of being caught in the spider-web of social media, the film posting especially - and the very notion that I am writing on a social media site, from which I would advertise the blog on other social media sites, it all seems like one big plate of irony served up on the world wide web. One cannot argue the notion against the impact of social media websites without the aid of social media sites to promote their message. Is there a way around the symposium of peer pressure around social media? Is there a way people can enjoy a walk in their local park or a meal without uploading a photo of it to their profile? Or is it the modern age that we live in now that this has become so natural that we sweep it under the carpet in a silent form of acceptance?

One can argue these points until the cow comes home but one cannot under-estimate the impact of social media. Whether it be in assisting the way celebrities fall from grace quicker than a tonne weight, or the speed in which news headlines spread throughout the world, social networking has brought the world together at the click of a simple button. Or has it? On my travels in recent months and years, it is apparent how reliant we all are on our mobile phones, our tablets, our iPads and laptops. It is also apparent how isolated we all become from others around us through the use of these devices. On the train back from Cambridge not two days ago, I was in a carriage where every single person was so engrossed in their phones or iPads that they not only ignored any form of beauty outside the windows of the train, but also strengthened my worry for the future communicative side of society. Are we too reliant on technology that we forget who we really are? What in modern day terms defines 'popular'? Is it having thousands of friends on Facebook? Is it having a hundred people like a status of yours on Facebook? People can be too caught up in how they are perceived online that they forget how to act face to face with a human being.

On the way to the station to catch the aforementioned train from Cambridge, I passed several restaurants en route, all of which contained couples and families who, instead of talking to one another, were on their phones texting and facebooking. This sight was one of those that hammered home the real influence and effect that social media has had on us as a society with friends and family. This notion of influencing the nature of families is something that I have a strong opinion about. In this case I relate to one of the recent Tetley Tea TV adverts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6Rb-1sub4M

The notion that information published online can be read by anyone and everyone is something that, when it comes to family affairs I believe should be kept a private affair, not plastered over social media. Relationships as well (and I know I have done this in the past but since then learnt my lesson) being posted in every regard - be it lovey dovey, rants or arguments, as well as new relationships, and posting photos of their new born babies every move. It all gets a bit too much to stomach sometimes. Maybe it's just my single side  being cynical, maybe it's the realisation of how much it must have annoyed people whenever I posted ridiculous posts years ago on Facebook regarding relationships. Either way, I don't think Facebook is a place to publicise one's love life, especially not use it as your own family album with your newborns as I believe that should be private. I know that there will be people who will not agree with this and that is their own opinion and I respect that, as this is my own opinion. 

In turn, I understand the importance of social media in the work place and in a having a social life too. Phones and social media websites are tools people cannot be without if they are on the go all the time or have a hectic social schedule to adhere to. It's more the lengths people go to on social media to show that they have this 'life'. We use social media to an exhaustive manner, so much so that for some of us it is the first thing we check before going to bed and waking up. I know this does not relate to everyone but it is becoming increasingly sparse to see a different story from the one I have described above, one of normality without the influence of social media. I leave you all with a quote that has made the rounds on the internet regarding the way in which we try and portray ourselves in society as a whole, by the one and only Tyler Durden from Fight Club:

Jonathan Whitehead