Social media has become a huge part of our everyday lives. For many, it's the place where they read the news or find new information about things. It's a place where people can connect or re-connect with family members or old friends. A place where we can share photos or exciting announcements with everyone who follows, or is friends with us. For the most part, social media is a helpful and rather entertaining tool. But when does it become too much? This day and age, and especially with this generation, social media has taken a bad turn. It has become a place where people can be whoever they want to be. They can share stories with others about their accomplishments or good fortune without people knowing that they also have bad, not so lucky days. It's a place where we can edit ourselves into whoever we want to be. But is it really you?
Have you ever found yourself looking over a tweet before sending it, and thinking to yourself “Will this get a lot of favorites?
Have you ever found yourself posting statuses on Facebook and exaggerating the situation?
Have you ever edited your photo more than once just to make it look perfect before posting it to Instagram?
If you answered no to any of the questions above, I can almost guarantee that you’re not telling the truth; Social media has become one of the biggest misconceptions of who we truly are.
When it comes to Twitter, it's common for someone to re-word a tweet several times before actually posting the tweet. This being because they want to make sure that it is a tweet that people will "favorite" or “retweet”. In some instances, these tweets are not words that they even believe in. For example, they might post a tweet with a positive quote, even though they might not even live by the quote or really believe in it. They only posted it for the “favorites” or “retweets” and to make followers think that this person is happy and positive. If you’re posting the tweet just to make yourself seem more content than you really are, don’t post it.
As for Facebook, it's common that someone will only post the photos where they look their best; The one's where they look skinny or happy in. If photos are added of them where they don't necessarily look their best, they wil untag themselves from it, or in some cases, even text the person who put it up and ask them to take it down. While it’s normal to not want people to see bad pictures of you, you shouldn’t freak out when an “ugly” picture is posted. Don’t rush to say, “OMG! I look sooo bad in this picture. It needs to be taken down.” You should accept the fact that everyone has flaws, and don’t let a bad picture make you feel insecure. No one is picture perfect. As for statuses, we all like to share good news with our family and friends, but stay away from exaggerating the situation and trying to make something seem better than it really is. Be honest with yourself and with your posts.
Before posting an Instagram photo a lot of users will check the time of day to make sure it’s a good “Instagram time,” which is when most users are online scrolling through their timeline. In addition, they will edit the photo and go through all the filters to pick the one that makes them look the best and the most flawless. Sometimes, they’ll also send it to their friends asking if it’s a good picture before posting it. There are many apps available for editing photos to "perfection". In the Instagram app itself you can do things such as changing the filter, brightness, contrast, saturation, highlights, shadows, sharpness, fade or add borders to your photos. In addition, there are apps with features that make your face or body skinnier, remove red-eye, smooth your skin, remove blemishes, whiten your teeth and even some apps where you can add makeup to your face. Some of these apps include, "Perfect 365," "Slim & Skinny," "AirBrush - Best Selfie Editor," "RetouchMe: Body and Face," "Facetune" and "Make Me Thin".
With all of this said, are we really who we say we are on our social media sites?
Social media shouldn't be used as a self-esteem booster or as means of making yourself feel accepted. While it is entertaining to view photos and statuses, don't get caught up in the thought of having the most likes or favorites on your posts is what defines you. This generation and this day in age, we are so obsessed with getting other people’s approval that we will do anything to show them the best versions of ourselves. But is it really you?
