There are a ton of reasons that we have become maybe a little to untrustworthy.
What am I talking about? Well, have you ever realized that you were jealous of someone on Facebook because maybe they got engaged? Or maybe your best friend landed the perfect job. Maybe it makes your own life look like it isn't worth it up against all your friends.
Listen up: when I was growing up, it was one of the last generations to "go play in the backyard" and "keep an ear out for when dinners ready." Those were way different times. Now, I hardly see kids being kids, instead, we have mini wannabe adults in the making. Maybe I am being too judgmental and this is just a "sign of the times." But what really bothers me is the fact that kids these days aren't only bullied in person but now they face the online world too. They grow up in a place where if you aren't perfect on social media, then what are you doing there? Other than to have others make fun of you to make themselves feel better?
Kids these days don't listen to you when you say social media can ruin relationships, and that maybe there is a world outside of the world of your phone. Having conversations that don't start with what they say on Instagram or what Snapchat someone sent them that day is really rare to find. Since we have practically another person in our pocket, it makes real people in front of you seem dull, since you have every answer to every question just a click and swipe away.
When social media is all someone knows, their views on society can be skewed. They see themselves as people who are ranked in society. They want to overcome that stereotype by being "different," but different is someone who doesn't care and doesn't need to show everyone that they don't. Everyone is so obsessed with themselves and other people that they fail to see roadblocks in real life. They face fake bullies that are only created in their minds. Because we all know the internet doesn't actually exist right? There's nothing that proves it exists because we don't have it floating in the air in front of us. It is a social construct and a money maker that makes us crazy. It is kind of like money. It isn't actually real, but it helps us be civilized and stay that way.
The take away from that is that what people say and who they portray themselves to be isn't actually real. I don't go on Facebook without considering what I am saying on my posts and how it might affect my readers. I always double check my photos to make sure I don't look too ugly. People start to find flaws they didn't see before when everything is constantly popping up. We started making these made up words for people that post too much and the people that care too much and the people that love too much. It can never been enough for some people. I see myself that some complain about too many political shares that take a second to scroll by but they themselves want the justification of calling out the person who maybe wants to share what they believe in with their friends. All made up. You build one thing to tear down another.
I grew up half a person and half a cyborg. I had half a good childhood and half a microchip. Kids that are graduating high school this year, well... I don't consider them as lucky as maybe some of us. Maybe because we could have written amazing stories about the adventures we had when we weren't looking at other people's made up adventures on a phone screen all day. We portray our entire life on a computer screen for likes. I just don't want us turning into a swiping frenzy like Black Mirror. By the way, if you have never seen the show, it changes your perspective on people these days. But I wonder what it would be like if people knew that perfection on social media isn't real. One perfect, get-it-right picture isn't real. People's accomplishments will never shadow yours or definitely not anyone else's in the world, because it's just that big!