How NOT To Do Social Media
Once upon a time, there were chat rooms. People would log on to them and spend hours typing away at the keyboard, having absolutely random conversations with complete strangers. It does sound a bit cryptic now, and sure, it was a major safety concern for many parents — but socializing with utter strangers from the safety of your home had its own charm — and the internet took that to whole new levels.
Now of course, things have changed. Socializing with complete strangers is still a safety concern — however, thanks to social media, no one is a stranger anymore. You can get to know exactly what someone in Australia is eating for breakfast without having to move an inch. What’s more, you can even give an opinion on their choice of breakfast, and have other people opine on that opinion — all again, without stepping out of the house. Yeah, our social life sure has come a looong way.
So long, in fact, that it seems to have lost its way now, altogether. From being a means of broadening one’s horizons, the internet and social media have now become a way of chaining oneself to one’s screen. We no longer want to get to know people, we just want post opinions about them. Your experiences don’t really matter unless they have a filter and a thousand likes. You are only as cool as your last profile pic. And let’s not even get started on the selfies.
So yeah, being social isn’t about smiling and saying hello anymore — unless there’s an emoji involved somewhere.
Still, while logging off isn’t entirely possible, there’s a way to make social media a little more, um, social. Or rather, real. And the way to do it, is to change the way you do social media.
1. Don’t Stare.
Ever tried staring at a person in public for more than 15 seconds? Didn’t go too well, did it? Staring at a screen for too long has more or less the same effect. Apparently, one of the worst ways to do social media is to NOT do it at all. You log on, and do nothing but scroll through your newsfeed. After all, if you are going to waste time here, you might as well use at least a few of the buttons they’ve provided you with. If you are just going to stare, well, there are better things to stare at. Point is, don’t use social media like you have no idea what it’s for.
2. Or worse, stalk.
And if you’re staring at other people’s goods on social media — oh boy — that’s right down trouble alley for you. Remember how we talked about talking to random strangers on the internet being a safety concern? Yeah — don’t become the safety concern. Whether it’s an ex, a friend’s ex or a random stranger’s ex — stalking people is just about the worst thing you can do on social media, even worse than posting selfies with quotes.
3. Don’t be too selfie-ish
One selfie is okay. Two are tolerable. 3 selfies every alternate day is just too much. It’s not like people will forget what you look like. They’re more likely to be confused about what you really look like, what with all the filters. Posting one too many selfies is like being the loudmouth at a party. The whole point of socializing is about mingling with them, getting to know them. No one likes someone who can’t stop pouting long enough to be able to pay attention to others.
4. Don’t be too serious
People don’t think too much before they talk. It’s no different when they type either. Taking every other comment or hashtag seriously is just a great way to be in a bad mood for the rest of the day. If you really want to slug it out, doing it in person is always much better and more rewarding, and a lot less effort than typing out witty comebacks and insults. In real life, we actually let a lot of things slide, because we realize it’s not worth our time to nitpick. Time has the same worth on social media too.
5. Don’t stick to the same
What made chat rooms exciting was the novelty they offered. Every time you logged on, there would be new people, new experiences and most of the time — you had no idea what you were getting in to. Sticking to the same people on social media that you knew in your school, college or workplace is just too repetitive and predictable. While it’s a great way to keep in touch, there’s a lot more that you can do than just keep in touch.
And finally,
6. Do more.
Don’t just share, connect. Don’t just repost, take initiative. Don’t just stare, get out there and say hello. Social media is a starting point for doing great things, awesome things, with amazing people. So do that. Log on, and then step out. Don’t just stick to the screen, connect in real time and make things happen in real life.
Also, check out Brigge — the real social network. Made for people who like to get out there and do things in the real world, Brigge puts the social back in media!
