My name is Sam, and I am an abuser of social media.
I don't just use social media, I abuse it. But don't we all? Take, for instance, every Facebook status telling the world how many kilometres they ran (not miles, kilometres sounds better as there are more of them and therefore more impressive), and every tweet describing how tired they are that morning. Facebook friends crave a 'like' or a comment, as a smack addict craves their next fix. Twitter accounts are desperate for a retweet or to open their individual stories to discussion with a wider audience, in order to score more followers.
The fact is that social media is self-serving. It's an online platform full of people who constantly need attention, and each user will persist until they hit the jackpot with a particular insightful status or humorous tweet - but even that won't be good enough. Once they've experienced the nectar of popularity, they're eager for more, to build on their modicum of success. They have visions of grandeur, becoming the 'next big thing', a social commentator who others will look to so that they too can beat the trodden path. Bees buzzing around the internet with aspirations to become the queen bee, to rise to the top, to gain respect from their peers. But there can only be one queen bee, and that is established from birth. The social media hierarchy is a monarchy, not a democracy.
I'm not so short-sighted that I don't count myself among this group, though. I tell myself, and others, that I use both Facebook and Twitter as an extension to the monologue that's continually running in my head, as a platform to gauge my jokes and general thoughts. I'm critical of myself, so if some witticism doesn't get the desired response then I'll delete the comment, erasing any history of it completely. I know that's not cool, but I do it anyway, my ego takes control of my sensibilities. Another example - if I deem something worthy to appear on Facebook, I tend to hold it back until the end of the working day because in my mind, that is when most people will read it, on their commute back from work or later in the evening in the comfort of their own homes, idly scrolling through that evening's updates.
I left Facebook for 18 months a few years ago, only returning in order to keep in touch with a friend who moved back to Australia, as well as others who were moving elsewhere in the world and across the country. But it sucked me back in and, while I don't feel the need to pass comment every single day, thanks to the rise of the smartphone, not a day goes by now without me checking my Facebook's home page or my Twitter feed.
I view it as a form of O.C.D. for my E.G.O. One final example highlights this and, again, I have never been afraid to admit this; indeed, I openly embrace the fact that I attempt to keep my following/followers ratio equal on Twitter. I can't put my finger on exactly why, but I'm sure it's some attempt at justifying my use of the platform - if I can attract a certain number of people who regularly tolerate my musings on life, then I am worthy to follow another person with each new follower.
Next week I'll be starting a new job, so I'm going to ween myself off having Twitter open at work in order to commit to the project properly. But take a look at your own history and ask yourself whether you're a user or an abuser. I envy the former, those who really can post something and forget about it, without wondering if others find it thought-provoking in any way. But I say it with a great deal of certainty that the majority of us fall into the latter camp of abusing social media.
I don't just use social media, I abuse it. But don't we all? Take, for instance, every Facebook status telling the world how many kilometres they ran (not miles, kilometres sounds better as there are more of them and therefore more impressive), and every tweet describing how tired they are that morning. Facebook friends crave a 'like' or a comment, as a smack addict craves their next fix. Twitter accounts are desperate for a retweet or to open their individual stories to discussion with a wider audience, in order to score more followers.
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| "Facebook friends crave a 'like' or a comment, as a smack addict craves their next fix. Twitter account are desperate for a retweet in order to score more followers" |
The fact is that social media is self-serving. It's an online platform full of people who constantly need attention, and each user will persist until they hit the jackpot with a particular insightful status or humorous tweet - but even that won't be good enough. Once they've experienced the nectar of popularity, they're eager for more, to build on their modicum of success. They have visions of grandeur, becoming the 'next big thing', a social commentator who others will look to so that they too can beat the trodden path. Bees buzzing around the internet with aspirations to become the queen bee, to rise to the top, to gain respect from their peers. But there can only be one queen bee, and that is established from birth. The social media hierarchy is a monarchy, not a democracy.
I'm not so short-sighted that I don't count myself among this group, though. I tell myself, and others, that I use both Facebook and Twitter as an extension to the monologue that's continually running in my head, as a platform to gauge my jokes and general thoughts. I'm critical of myself, so if some witticism doesn't get the desired response then I'll delete the comment, erasing any history of it completely. I know that's not cool, but I do it anyway, my ego takes control of my sensibilities. Another example - if I deem something worthy to appear on Facebook, I tend to hold it back until the end of the working day because in my mind, that is when most people will read it, on their commute back from work or later in the evening in the comfort of their own homes, idly scrolling through that evening's updates.
I left Facebook for 18 months a few years ago, only returning in order to keep in touch with a friend who moved back to Australia, as well as others who were moving elsewhere in the world and across the country. But it sucked me back in and, while I don't feel the need to pass comment every single day, thanks to the rise of the smartphone, not a day goes by now without me checking my Facebook's home page or my Twitter feed.
I view it as a form of O.C.D. for my E.G.O. One final example highlights this and, again, I have never been afraid to admit this; indeed, I openly embrace the fact that I attempt to keep my following/followers ratio equal on Twitter. I can't put my finger on exactly why, but I'm sure it's some attempt at justifying my use of the platform - if I can attract a certain number of people who regularly tolerate my musings on life, then I am worthy to follow another person with each new follower.
Next week I'll be starting a new job, so I'm going to ween myself off having Twitter open at work in order to commit to the project properly. But take a look at your own history and ask yourself whether you're a user or an abuser. I envy the former, those who really can post something and forget about it, without wondering if others find it thought-provoking in any way. But I say it with a great deal of certainty that the majority of us fall into the latter camp of abusing social media.
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