In our generation, social media has become such a central part of our lives. It’s a way to stay connected, freely communicate, and update friends and family near and far – all within a few taps of our thumbs. But virtues become vices. People get too involved. Suddenly, likes and shares and favorites define who you are. We let people who may not even know us judge us through a screen. We spend time putting on this mask, building a façade, adding filters, and adopting a new persona, in order to impress our viewers. Likes, shares, favorites and followers all act as a weighted ball and chain upon us, tied around our ankles, dragging us and holding us down. We get too caught up in others’ opinions of us. How have we gotten to the point where numbers define us?
I’ll be the first to admit it: I don’t have the biggest following on social media. Whether it be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest, I’m just not that active of a user. I don’t feel the need to frequently post my political opinions, rants about current events, general whereabouts or a picture from every weekend.
So as you can imagine, there’s a certain trepidation I feel as a brand new writer for Odyssey, a platform for millennials to share their voices through social media and be heard. How is my voice going to be heard if I’m not an active user with bustling followers waiting, wanting to share my every post? What if people don’t read my articles? Am I just wasting my time, searching for my five seconds of fame that won’t ever happen? These thoughts race through my head, making me self conscious of my writing and afraid of this new territory.
But the simple answer is that it doesn’t really matter. Odyssey is an outlet: an opportunity to grow, cultivate thoughts, challenge creativity, and become a published writer. Of course the idea of putting my most vulnerable thoughts, feelings and opinions online for the world to see is incredibly frightening. But the number of viewers, readers or sharers – no matter how many or how few – will never take away the importance of what you or I or anyone else has to say.
While I’m sure I’ll have a handful of loyal followers and sharers such as parents and lifelong friends, I don’t expect to gain a huge following – which at times people view as synonymous to popularity. But that number will never stop me from writing something I am passionate about, something I believe in, something I enjoy. Do I expect my articles to be going viral with thousands of shares? Certainly not. But is anything possible? Absolutely.
