There's recently been a lot of intriguing online press regarding social media and the effect it can have on identity. Whether positive or negative, it seems that no one contests that social media has an effect. For most, that effect is often on self-perception or self-promotion.
I am not going to clamor and assert that social media is inherently anything, good or bad. It is a tool. Tools can be used wisely, tools can be used foolishly. But we cannot blame the tools for how we use them.
My conviction lies more in how I myself use social media, and what life I cultivate. Am I pouring more time and effort into curating an image and cultivating a life online? Or am I spending my time, resources, and energies to pour into the lives of people around me? Am I staging pictures to portray an image of life, happiness, and harmony? Or am I working on relationships with people around me to cultivate connection, truth, and joy? Which is more important to me: experiencing the moment, or capturing a moment? Am I filled with joy by the things I see on my friends' posts, or am I filled with jealousy?
I often don't have answers to these questions. More often than not, I don't like the answers to these questions when I'm truly honest with myself. But I want to cultivate a life characterized by real connection with real people in real day-to-day life. Much like life, it's a process. The end result isn't a stellar collection of pictures, it's a life lived with intention and presence.
I am not going to clamor and assert that social media is inherently anything, good or bad. It is a tool. Tools can be used wisely, tools can be used foolishly. But we cannot blame the tools for how we use them.
My conviction lies more in how I myself use social media, and what life I cultivate. Am I pouring more time and effort into curating an image and cultivating a life online? Or am I spending my time, resources, and energies to pour into the lives of people around me? Am I staging pictures to portray an image of life, happiness, and harmony? Or am I working on relationships with people around me to cultivate connection, truth, and joy? Which is more important to me: experiencing the moment, or capturing a moment? Am I filled with joy by the things I see on my friends' posts, or am I filled with jealousy?
I often don't have answers to these questions. More often than not, I don't like the answers to these questions when I'm truly honest with myself. But I want to cultivate a life characterized by real connection with real people in real day-to-day life. Much like life, it's a process. The end result isn't a stellar collection of pictures, it's a life lived with intention and presence.
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