It seems as though we as humans have curated a society that has an odd obsession with numbers. From weight to money to organizing our days down to the minute, this obsession has become part of our lives. The never-ending world of technology has created connotations that we need to look a certain way and earn a certain amount in order to live a success-filled life.
As part of the millennial generation, we have taken this obsession to a whole new level. Growing up, we may have overheard our parents stress over the number on the weight scale or only having enough money for the necessities of life. While these things are nearly minuscule to the world's real problems, our generation has become obsessed with numbers in a whole new light involving... yep, you guessed it, social media.
I vividly remember when social media started to become a much bigger thing than just dating sites and short home videos on YouTube. The world of Instagram was created in 2010, but became much more known in 2012 to my knowledge.
Little did we know at the ripe age of 13 that this media platform would evolve into something much bigger in the span of just six years. It started off as a place to share pictures of me and my friends at fabulous middle school dances and me experimenting with makeup and posting selfies and quickly turned into a tool that influencers and businesses could thrive off of. In fact, many public figures are able to make money off of sponsored posts and earning a large following.
While social media platforms such as Instagram have provided us with the ability to create and share art with our followers, it is often easy to get caught up in the obsession with the number of followers and likes we receive.
From a millennial perspective, I think this obsession comes along with the thought that, "I worked hard on creating and editing this, and therefore it deserves to be seen and physically taped twice by my followers."
Our worth is now often defined by these followers and likes received. We are trying our best to keep up with influencers and create content that people should care about. We want to create something that has yet to be seen.
This can be quite difficult now; with so many people giving their all at creating eye-catching content, it sometimes all tends to start looking the same. By using VSCO presets and making our profiles flow through the creation of "themes," each person is able to create their own look and brand image. I personally find it amazing that people are able to use a simple form of social media to create this image.
But, for those of you who constantly keep track of your followers and sit at your screen tapping the refresh button as the likes go up, stop. This can be extremely hard when a society has started to prove our worth through a number and heart, but our generation is worth so much more than that.
Amazing content is being created and I truly believe that the world of creating will never stop. Numbers don't matter when you're creating with a purpose.
