In today’s digital world, us millenials are constantly looked down upon by our elders. Look at those young people, they say, all they do is stare at a tiny screen all day.
Now, given, this is partly true. But what some older people don’t realize is that this is our way to communicate with our peers in a whole new way, besides, of course, actually interacting with them.
On all these different platforms that we expose ourselves on, be it Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest, we are able to express ourselves in more than one way.
If you’re the type of person who likes getting inspired by different quotes from people, perhaps you’ve heard the popular quote: “Become the best version of yourself”.
Well, on all the various social media platforms out there, we are essentially embodying this quote, and discovering different versions of ourselves.
But is it true what some critics are saying? That our different personas are all but false and not authentic? Is authenticity becoming archaic?
I answer with an ever resounding no. And I’ll explain why.
On Facebook:
Ah, Facebook. The site that has recently become popular for sharing different videos and constantly seeing our friends’ unnecessary rants about their political views. On Facebook, our personas are usually representative of how we want to be seen by grandma and potential employers. It’s a place to poke people, post pictures from that one cruise you went on, and keep up with family. People usually keep their Facebook accounts pretty tame.
On Instagram:
On Instagram, or as some call it, “insta”, it is less common that you’ll have any older family members as one of your followers. Therefore, Instagram profiles are the way we wish to be seen by our peers. Or possibly just the way we wish to see ourselves. This version of ourselves can include anything from artsy pictures to display photography skills or perhaps candid laughing pictures with our best friends. On Instagram, people represent themselves in square pictures, all while possibly becoming Instagram famous.
On Twitter:
Twitter to me is the sassiest form of social media. It’s where you’ll laugh the most and have to urge to tweet the funniest things. Or perhaps subtweet our opinion about how we feel about that one girl who was rude. To each his own.
On Snapchat:
With “stories” that only last for 24 hours, we are able to share our life with our friends. We authentically represent what composes our day to day life with others. And we can also send funny snap filters to our friends individually. At a party? Snapchat video. Pretty sunrise? No filter needed. Snapchat is an impactful platform in our lives, and is a quick and easy way to share stuff with our friends.
Through these sites, I believe we are showing the world different versions of ourselves, and are therefore expressing ourselves in different ways.
