Social Media – A Double-edged Sword.

If you have to look at your own activities on social media and rate your level of happiness, what would it be?

Were you actually thinking or feeling what you posted?

If I were to rate my “social media persona”, I would rate her lonely. She is lonely seeking for attention. She is lonely searching validations. She is lonely trying to find others like herself; others who are stuck between worlds of norms and expectations.

To me, social media has always been a way to cope with many situations. I mainly post about my thoughts and feelings and share others’ posts that are relatable to my current mood. At the time, I thought I was just venting, but the true reason behind it was not the same. The truth, one even I had no idea of, was my seeking for attention. I realized later on that I posted so people would know how I was feeling, and hopefully respond. I came to rely on such responses and redirected certain aspects of my life just to fit in the norms and please a group of audiences.

Those couple of years running after the social media norms were my lowest years regarding self-love and self-esteem. The Gothenburg Research Institution from Sweden reveals that many female Facebook users are reported to feel less happy and have a lower self-esteem due to constant comparisons of their personal life to other successful-looking pictures. I am guilty of this action in the past, but luckily, I have realized soon enough to stop and learned to be comfortable in my own skin.

If used consciously, social media can be a great source for everyone's needs. I feel relieved and less negative being able to share my feelings and reading relatable posts or uplifting contents. Also, I find it useful that social media can support with suicidal prevention and detect several other mental illnesses. Microsoft researchers analyzed 476 people's Twitter accounts as well as via surveys and managed to predict depression accurately up to a ratio of 7/10 cases before symptoms appeared. This is one aspect I keep dearly to my heart because we have lost a friend in this particular way. Therefore, I always try to keep an eye out on all my friends and reach out whenever I suspect a thing they post.

After all, there are always good and bad in everything in life. Social media lifts people up, but it can also drown people way too easily. It's our perspective and decisions of what to do with the situation are what matter the most. I just want to let everyone know that you worth everything you are, and do not let anything or anyone tell you differently!