In the year 2009, I had no idea about what social media was or how it had started to shape behaviours in the world of today. Back then, my only social circle consisted of my school and neighbourhood friends. I remember how my 10 year old self used to go out and play with these friends. Clueless as to how the world would be totally different 10 years later.
Dear 10 year old self,
Today you’re so busy playing outside, traveling with our parents and having fun. Enjoy this period of time while it lasts, for the world of tomorrow is going to be very different. You’d be happy to know that I’m still in touch with my old friends. I know every time they go watch a movie or travel someplace new. But you’d be surprised to know that I’m in touch with friends and family while living 10,000 kilometers away from them. How, you ask? Well it’s social media of course. Other than games, smartphones now have these applications which you can use to share content, with anyone, anywhere in the world? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many more! You just create a post and share it publicly with the world or privately with your friends. This isn’t all Social media is good for.
People have actually started making careers online. YouTubers who post video content on YouTube, Instagram influencers who run blogs and Instagram pages related to fashion, lifestyle and so much more that I can’t even begin to cover it. The affordances of media just make it easier to share content. This online word-of-mouth is a marketing strategy like no other. I find that rather than selling the product, people are selling their personalities more. Once you gain a stable following base, you can sell almost anything to these people. This is exactly what my favourite musicians BTS are doing.
I myself want to be a travel journalist. I want to share the multicultural experiences with people who are unable to travel and with people who want to learn about other cultures. So, Social media has become very important for my personal brand. I curate pictures and video content to upload it online on my Instagram and YouTube accounts. This not only helps me demonstrate my skills to a broader audience, but also gives me an advantage compared to the people who are not sharing their content online. People have even asked me to take pictures for them, after seeing my work.
Personally, I think social media is as much of a curse as it’s a boon. You could easily get distracted by the infinitely endless content available online. Moreover, some of us have started losing our communication skills as we’re growing used to texting online. From experience I can say that sometimes you can learn more about a person from their social media account than in person while talking with them. Even staying offline has consequences, since the employers often look for employees who have established social identities. While staying offline could help you stay connected with your inner self, it might disconnect people from the online community, their conversations and trends. The idea of the performed self is also scary, because it basically says that people perform their ideal selves online. How does one ever know what they see online is real or not? Are people really who they claim to be? Social media has the power to promote you but it can also destroy careers. One single mistake can go viral from online echo-chambers of people who don’t want to hear any excuses.
You’ll be a part of this global village soon enough. Here clouds don’t just carry condensed water, they carry endlesss data. Data that connects people. People who are so much more connected today, yet still so faraway from each other. Brace yourself for this brave new world. The key to survival here is staying true to yourself, staying original. Instead of keeping to yourself, engage in conversations. As Hamza Khan says, “do things, tell people.” But don’t just share, keep learning from people and evolving with an open perspective.
See you in 10 years,
Simran.