We live in a world where social media is the foundation to people’s everyday lives. Although I have used social media to communicate with family and friends I have also disconnected from using it at times in order to enjoy my surroundings. Recently I’ve been reading this book called “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**”by Mark Manson.
Despite the title, everything I’ve read so far is quite interesting and makes me question why people care so much about what others think of them. Even if people say they don’t care about other’s opinions, deep down they still do care. For so long I cared what others thought of me and sometimes I still do yet I’ve learned that its important to value your own opinions of yourself instead of others.
One of the goals I made for myself this summer is to disconnect from the social media platform and limit my usage of being on Instagram and Snapchat. We scroll through feeds and see people living their lives sending the message that everything is great in their lives. There’s that saying of how you have to be present and not watching everything through a screen. We turn to fantasy instead of tuning into reality and engaging in conversation with others face to face instead of through a device.
Manson states, ” Wanting a positive experience is a negative experience; accepting negative experience is a positive experience.” My interpretation of what this line meant was that people are expecting things to do their way setting themselves up for something they have planned out in their heads. Eventually when the event occurs and doesn’t go as expected that is when it turns into a negative experience.
When we see unrealistic depictions in film and social media we expect it to turn out like it does in the movies however are highly disappointed when it fails to meet our expectations. I myself have experienced situations like this and when I entered college I realized that I could not have this mindset anymore. I understood that I needed to have realistic expectations and be prepared for whatever happens in the future and appreciate life more. The point is to not think negatively about everything but think optimistically and have hope that things will work out in the end and if not then maybe it wasn’t meant to be.
Technology is changing all the time and for future generations it is important to step back and look up at the stars every once in a while. Instead of letting social media dictate our lives we overpower it and do not let us define who we are. Be optimistic about things working out and know that sometimes things don’t always go according to plan.
Hope for the best and recognize that you are more than a few likes on Instagram or the number of people that view your so-called glamourous life through Snapchat. Don’t become a slave to the screen and embrace your surroundings and believe you are capable of achieving great things in life through your own hard work. If we become slaves to what the internet has brought upon us it means we have stopped living and fully comprehending our capacity for human interaction and appreciation of greater things in life.