Letter To My Younger Self
Dear Sam,
I am writing to you nine years after you first signed up for a social media account. From then on, your digital footprint has grown immensely on four different platforms connecting you to people from all corners of the planet. You have had your ups and some downs but luckily enough more ups than downs. After MSN, Facebook was where you got your feet wet and had the opportunity to experience to what it was like to make connections with people over the web. Sharing pictures, videos and accumulating the most friends as possible. Some of the coolest experiences that have come from social media in my opinion are when you are out travelling in another country and manage to connect on facebook or instagram. Then a year or two later you manage to meet up with these people in another country and it goes to show how social has the ability to keep people connected and relationships intact. While you are away from these friends, social gives you the ability to stay in touch and keep up with what they are up to in their lives.
I have been fortunate enough to have not been a victim of cyberbullying or any form of abuse online. Concerning the stressors however, they are so very present in a millenials life. Personally, I think that FOMO has been the biggest stressor in my teen and early twenties. Fear of missing out was always a joke in my friend group but it is very real. Missing a big party or a weekend out with the whole “crew” and you’re caught out of the loop for the next couple days because that’s all your friends can talk about and the inside jokes from the party. You better believe you’re going to see the fun from the festivities from pictures and insta and snap stories. This was more so the case when I was in my teenage years around 15–17. Also when I first moved to Toronto from Montreal and started missing birthdays and parties from my friends down at McGill. FOMO started as a term that did not really mean much until it became a reality and I began to realize that I really was missing out and it had an effect on my mood and how I felt. I did not want to lose my friends or miss out on memories is essentially what it is.
Steven Furtick’s quote of “We struggle with insecurity because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.” is extremely accurate in today’s society amongst my peers. I feel as if everyone is constantly trying to one-up each other by showing off where they’re travelling, partying or some cool activity they are partaking in. As a matter a fact, instagram allows you to have the option of putting up your “highlight” stories on your profile for people to see at all times. This can then translate into giving yourself some self worth which can be explained as social currency. As the image depicted asks, what are we willing to exchange in order to balance our status differences? We give up so much in order to feel accepted to the point where we cause ourselves internal pain just so that we look good on the outside. How much of our mental health are we willing to sacrifice for our social appearance?
Personally, I do think that social media is an addiction and I firmly believe that anyone can benefit from a social media hiatus. I have done this and it works wonders. When I was tree planting out in Northern Ontario for two months last summer, we would only have connection once every 4 days if we were lucky. So this forced us to interact with each other, meet new people and most of all it allowed yourself to reflect. I lost the urge to check my phone every 20 minutes and appreciate the environment I was in. Surrounded by nature, lakes, mountains and such a positive environment without technology. I was lost in nature which was something that had not happened in years and there is close to no proof documented. Furthermore, I realized I had more revitalizing sleeps (also because I was exhausted every night) and got into a routine that had me motivated every morning. I was prioritizing what my body needed rather than what my mind wanted. This kept me healthy mentally and physically and most importantly, I was as happy as a clam.
All this to say, Sam, keep your head on straight and remember what is most important in life. Social is only a temporary pleasure that needs to be moderated. Also, of all the material you do post online, make sure it is positive and does not portray anyone in a negative manner. There will be no benefit from bashing someone publicly. Karma is a b****. Be an example for others because that will come around and you will be rewarded. There are only positives from being nice to others. Remember the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Finally Sam, just be yourself. You are a well liked, charismatic person and people will like you for who you are so do not try to please others just to fit in. You are surrounded by people who love you.
