Social media is great for connecting with people you know and making new connections with those who you would never cross paths with in real life. It is great for entertainment and getting information across to people. However social media today is very different to how it was when I was younger. I remember when I first joined instagram, about a decade ago. Back then, the main pictures people would upload onto the app were usually restaurant meals, pictures of nature, holiday pictures and basic selfies. The picture quality wasn't great. Fast forward to today things have drastically changed.
Nowadays social media is more about lifestyle, image and looking rich. When I was young I used to watch a show called MTV cribs. On this show celebrities used to show off their mansions and the luxury items they own. Celebrities (and the rich) drove the expensive cars, had the latest electronics, had all the designer clothes, flew on private jets and lived this expensive lifestyle. This lifestyle seemed far fetched for the average everyday person. Nowadays it appears as if this “rich lifestyle” is normal for the average person. On Instagram you see average everyday people dripped down in designer wear, taking pictures with expensive cars, flying first class, in exotic holiday locations. It’s in our faces all the time. Now people expect this to be the norm. The sad thing is that people believe they are failing in life if they are not able to achieve this lifestyle, especially the younger generation.
Social media has distorted reality for many people. They believe that living lavishly and being able to afford that lifestyle in your 20s is the norm, however that is not reality. In the UK the top 1% earn £160k per year. The average age of a millionaire is is around 57 years old and I'm sure the majority of them were broke in their 20s (minus the ones born into wealth). Most people are living average lives. Growing up, young people who did have cars drove bangers, and the most expensive brand people would wear was probably Nike. Now I see young men have very expensive cars as their first car and schoolkids wearing designer items. Young people don't realise that it is not the norm for the average 20 something year old to financially be on the level of wealth as a successful middle aged person. Yes there are millionaires in their 20s but it is a minority of people. Due to inflation and the cost of living crisis there are many people struggling financially. People need to discern what they see online to what actually happens offline. Plus there are many people out there who do not use social media. What we see on social media is not representative of what happens in society.
I've seen a number of cases on the news where people who portray themselves as rich online get arrested for doing scams, fraud or drugs. There are people willing to do anything and risk their freedom for "image". Mental health is on the rise, especially in younger people due to social media. It causes people to think that they are not good enough and haven't achieved much. When I was in my 20s I was pretty much broke, drove a banger and earned low income like many other poeple in that age range. Your 20s is your first time experiencing adulthood, you are still figuring life out, this is the time to learn and make mistakes, experience life and try different things. It's an exploratory time.
I think it boils down to self-esteem and validation. If you know your own identity and your worth and value, you wouldn't need external factors to validate you. If you have low self esteem and don't see yourself as worthy you will latch onto external things to find worth and value.
Social media platforms are now monetised and there is a whole "influencer culture". When I was growing up, influencer culture did not exist. I am am not against the influencer culture as some people have been able to make careers off of it, however I do question the type of content that is promoted by them. Some influencers do have a positive influence, while others don't. There are examples of the latter promoting scams, bad products and false lifestyles. You also get the 'baddie' influencers which are young women that have a particular aesthetic and build their careers on how they look. They tend to wear excessive makeup, have lip fillers, BBL's, and wear fast fashion brands such as Fashion Nova and post heavily edited pictures. Some even try to make themselves look racially ambiguous.
The issue I have with this standard of beauty they present, is the influence it has on younger girls. I see teenagers who try and fit into this beauty standard with the make-up, and hairstyles, and even lip fillers. Due to this many young women suffer from low self-esteem. They compare themselves to something that doesn't even exist in reality. Personally, I did not wear make up until I was 20. Also, there is a lot of financial pressure on young men which is unfair. I do not expect a man in his 20's to afford luxury cars, tons of designer items or to be able to provide a rich lifestyle for his partner. It is not realistic. The loud minority have made it seem that this unrealistic lifestyle is the norm. NEWSFLASH it is not. The majority of people are average, they earn average incomes, live in average homes and have average lives. Do not be hard on yourself because you have a normal life. There is nothing wrong with it. Live your life at your own pace, do what makes you happy. If social media makes you depressed, delete the apps and live in the real world. Your value is not determined by someone's opinion on social media, you are born with inherit value. Aim to be your best authentic self. God doesn't make mistakes, so you are not one.
No comments:
Post a Comment