Show me your best you!
2016 feels like it’s been going on for decades already. As the rising tide of this never-ending shitstorm continues, I’ve noticed some personal behavior changes around social media.
Not only am I tweeting and posting to Facebook less (everything I post feels trivial and/or self-serving compared to the actual problems of the world), but I’m increasingly avoiding them to protect my sanity.
Instead, I’ve been spending more time on Instagram and Snapchat, and I have a few theories as to why that is:
There are no comments on Snapchat
This kind of goes without saying, but not having the opportunity to hate-read comments on someone's post is refreshing. Like a moth drawn to a flame, I always feel the need to look at the responses, and they’re usually terrible. This sends me down another rabbit hole of feeling like I have to protect / jump to that person’s defense. It never ends well.
Snapchat is impermanent
Except when it isn’t, of course. But for the most part, I feel like I can watch and share Snapchat stories without worrying about perfecting the shot or creating the best video. That takes a lot of mental pressure off, and lets me just enjoy it.
Instagram is beautiful
This is the weirdest one for me. I had been using less and less of Instagram, mostly because of the stress to curate the perfect version of myself there. But now, the same things that used to irritate me about the platform (FOMO, indulgent selfies, food pictures) now feel like a celebration.
Because there’s so much darkness in the world, being able to see moments of happiness or beauty in the lives of my friends (and even those people I follow who I don’t know personally) has been therapeutic. Trips they’re enjoying, weddings, their own smiling faces; it all feels like a breath of fresh air compared to every other social platform.
We all need a mental vacation sometimes (this is the primary reason that I very much enjoy watching Ballers on HBO), and for me right now it’s these two very dissimilar social media products. I like seeing you happy. I like seeing you enjoy your life. These are the things we’re fighting to protect right now all over the world, and I want to remember that.
