When did it happen? Validation is no longer sought through family or self. Rather social media has taken the place of all other practices in order for one to confirm who they are, what they want to be or simply who they want to be portrayed as. I remember a time, a simpler time, when we knew who we were. Where we didn’t seek or care for the opinions of others because we were already confidently confirmed about who we were and what we were about. Although we were mere children then I remember it vividly. We weren’t consumed in recording our every step, aspiration, or goal. We cared not to show off what we had or what we knew. We understood that validation of self was more important than validation from others.
Now, as I view one social network to the next I see countless people preaching without practice while desperately seeking attention and acceptance from others through any means possible. The rise of social media was inevitable, but I believe it changed us. It was originally all about connection and convenience and has grown and exploded into an epidemic, infecting the minds of our youth. It’s disturbing to see how modesty is slowly being diminished day by day. Things we once held sacred are no more. Nothing is private. Everyone feels the need to share every inch of their life, both good and bad; disclosing every aspect of information to a generally unqualified judgmental audience. Each individual seems to be in competition with the next, to either boast about their unrealistic lifestyle or accuse another class or individual of doing the same.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand that each individual’s page can be an expression of one’s self. In addition, I know there’s a number of individuals that stray from the flock of sheep and don’t fall into the realm of any of these categories. But the truth of the matter is a gross number of individuals are more consumed with how others may see them than how they actually are in reality. There’s too much falsity, too much disclosure, too much skin showing. Now, I’m not the most conservative person myself, but some of the posts and things I see on social media networks should be alarming to most. It’s unfortunate that we lost the essence of communicating with others by more traditional means. A time where pictures were once taken for memory’s sake and not posed and posted for the intentions of seeking envy or “likes” from our colleagues and peers.
This social media world has consumed us. Too many can’t go a day without skimming through posts and posting photos or pointless status’ either bragging, judging others, preaching or promoting all the wrong practices. It’s sad what it has come to. Most people are looking for comfort and acceptance from all the wrong places, doing whatever they can to fit in or at least seem that way. Despite all these tendencies that surround us, we can’t loose ourselves to the common trends. We must find validation in ourselves and accept ourselves and disregard the thoughts and opinions of others. The satisfaction we seek should come from within, not from others.
Esse Quam Videri 