College Tip 3: Take Social Media for What it is

Picture Source: The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/jan/21/art-made-for-instagram-is-taking-over-festivals-and-taking-us-away-from-the-experience-of-it

*The following is an excerpt from the poem “Double Tap,” which is featured in my poetry collection.

Double Tap

Double tap.

Scrolling through your timeline,
pictures appear of classmates at parties,
fake smiling with wine glasses as empty as their souls.
They’re completely broken,
but have accepted their sadness in the moment
for the perfect shot.

Double tap.

You see a picture of Andrea kissing Devin at midnight.
You instantly regret ever stumbling on this picture
or ever following Andrea
or ever caring about her
because you completely adore her,
but you aren’t as tall or as handsome.
And now, it’s midnight on New Year’s,
and you’re stuck alone in your room.
The image of those two kissing flickers
when the clock strikes midnight,
the banging of pots and pans echoing
from outside your bedroom window.

Double tap.

You watch a video of a high school friend
at your favorite sushi place
for a surprise birthday dinner,
old friends around the table
as the waiter brings a brownie sundae.
The caption reads “Happy birthday” with the heart eyes emoji.
You like the video, but wonder
why you weren’t invited.
Did you do something wrong?
You wish you had friends
that would throw you a surprise birthday dinner.
But all of them left before college,
trying to fill the gaps in their hearts
that couldn’t be filled
by any amount of alcohol or one-night stands.

Double tap.

Brenda finds antidepressants in her daughter Claire’s room,
trying to comfort her after the fact.
But no amount of support or love
can change how inferior Claire feels.
She believes she’s not as good as the other girls,
not as pretty nor popular.
No one ever comments on her pictures,
and five minutes after she posts a selfie,
Bianca posts one too,
beating her amount of likes in seconds
as the comments pile up.

Double tap.

After liking Mike and Rebecca’s wedding pictures,
you realize how happy they are,
but how the moment will fade
as the banquet hall is cleaned
and the wedding gifts have all been unwrapped
and the Instagram likes stop streaming in.

On her end, Rebecca wonders why she didn’t get
as many likes as her maid of honor, Haley, on wedding photos,
and the thought of a more successful and beautiful woman in the world is terrifying
because she thinks that Mike will stop loving her.
She feels guilty to be jealous of her best friend since childhood,
but she can’t help it.
What she doesn’t know is that Mike doesn’t love her after all;
he has been sleeping with Haley all this time,
lured into a filtered and superficial affair.

Double tap.

Walking into the family party,
your cousin puts on It’s a Wonderful Life.
You sit on the crowded couch, but feel so disconnected
as your fingers scroll down and hover over pictures of your friends
in ugly Christmas sweaters and matching pajama sets.
You wonder why you have to be stuck on this couch watching this movie you’ve seen 100 times,
not realizing that you could be making special memories like the ones you see in those photos
if only you would put down the phone
and enjoy the moment.

Double tap.

Posting a picture from the museum,
you hope that Noah sees it.
Refreshing the page for hours,
you look at the “Following” tab
and see that Noah has liked eight posts in the past twenty minutes,
but has not — and will not — like yours.

Double tap.

*Note: Even if some people look perfect in their photos, they’re struggling with something in their lives. While social media is a great way to express yourself while connecting with others, at the end of the day, it’s a highlight reel, and it’s important to differentiate those glossy photos from someone’s lived reality. Someone could get hundreds of likes on pictures and only have a few friends, and someone else could get just a few likes and have a ton of friends. While some people search for validation through likes, it’s important not to define your self-worth solely by your online presence.

In this article series, I share excerpts and stories from my book, Are These the Greatest Years?. I hope you enjoyed this post — if you enjoyed it and want to connect you can reach me here via email dominicrose50@gmail.com or connect with me on social:
TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJTqVtdH/
Also, you can find my book on Amazon — here is the link to buy it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DTJMMTQ/