You Are More Than Just a Metric
Social media plays a big part of our everyday lives. It is very rare to meet someone who hasn’t joined at least one social network. But of course, something that has become so prominent in our lives is sure to have some effect on how we perceive others, the world, as well as ourselves. There are a lot of positive impacts social platforms have given us. We have the ability to stay connected with friends and family both near and far. We can receive news from any country across the world, which can be spread in a matter of minutes. We can interact with brands, companies, celebrities, and others who we may have never had access to before. However not all of social media’s societal impacts are positive. A survey by Huffington Post says 60% of social media users have reported that social media has negatively impacted their self-esteem. We are constantly comparing ourselves to everyone we see on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and every other site out there. But it’s not just the content that’s being compared, it’s the numbers as well.
Vanity metrics are everywhere. Page views, followers, likes, shares, impressions… these metrics are found on everything. It is always about who has the most followers, the most likes, the most shares. It’s a popularity game. I can understand the importance of these numbers for brands wanting to advertise through other social users, but on an individual level, what is this doing to our sense of self-worth? These platforms have become a constant battle for likes, retweets, and shares. When we get a lot, we feel great. When we don’t get as many, we feel rejected. It brings feelings of neglect, being ignored, or not being good enough to deserve a like. The numbers game is affecting how we perceive our value as individuals. We feel less important than someone who receives more likes than us. People seem to be forgetting that the number of likes on a post does not define who you are as a person.
It’s difficult to predict how social media is going to affect the future. When you really think about it, social media has not been around long enough to see how it affects us as we grow older. I personally believe we are moving to become more narcissistic, insecure, and struggle to connect in real-world relationships. I envision a future where we are so concerned with the amount of likes on our last Instagram post than we do about the people we spend our lives with (in some cases, I think we may already be there). 50% of social media users already say the platforms have already has a negative impact on their relationships in the real world. I can only imagine this number escalating as time goes on. If there is one take away from all of this, I think it is important to remember that no matter the number of likes you get, the number of followers you have, or the number of shares you receive, this does not define who you are as a person. You are not just a number, and your self-worth does is not determined by any of your metrics.
