Metrics Shmetrics: Self-Value Beyond Social Media
Social media metrics are the ideal tools for strategizing towards a goal. In the context where quantifying all aspects of social media and finding the perfect algorithms are necessary to obtain the largest social capital, these numbers hold the potential to unlock millions of likes, comments, and followers. But what happens when you don’t really have a goal? What if you want to use social media to express your own personality and document your life for yourself?
Well, that is exactly how I see it! I mostly never cared about metrics or any sort of number count related to my social media accounts because I never placed value on them. While most of my friends make use of aesthetics and set goals to gain followers and likes, I post (usually on Instagram) because I want to. The visual content posted is meaningful to me and is like a scrapbook of my own life, which cannot be replicated in any way because of the meanings behind each photo. I recognize that virtually everyone has a different set of values they hold true to themselves, and that will most likely be reflected through their online presence. Someone who values travelling might post content related to that topic in hopes of gaining popularity and having the social means to get free trips. Yet that is what makes social media so interesting: everyone’s presence tends to be generally tied to an underlying goal that is directly related to their values, interests, and personality. I believe that if you are truly happy with what you are posting, and hope to get some perks, that is fine. But I will never believe that the numbers associated with your social media accounts should ever dictate your value — you cannot measure your worth, kindness, or passion with vain metrics.
My understanding of social media comes from having lived before it ever existed. I experienced life without worrying about posting everything I ever came across, without feeling the need to satisfy my followers, and without the need to match an aesthetic that was not true to real life. My loved ones instilled a strong sense of self-value in me, one where the need for external validation from complete strangers was unnecessary. This isn’t to say I haven’t had my share of slips (I am human), but I will always revert back to words of wisdom from my friends and family before I ever look at my follower count and feel valuable again. I reckon that the obsession with these metrics would have influenced me more if I grew up in the age of social media, but I was fortunate enough to have the best of both worlds, and I knew where to draw the line.
In all honesty, no digital metrics have influenced my sense of self or my understanding of value because I have always remained grounded in the humanity of the world: nothing will ever replace our human experience. Feelings and worth do not equal likes and comments.
