The wave of social media has hardly left anyone uninfluenced. From finding our long lost friends, jobs, recipes to starting businesses and finding answers to almost everything one can think of, social media is being used by everyone in different ways. Yes, there are several arguments about how people portray a very different picture on certain social media portals, which are actually quite contrary to their lives in reality. However, why would anyone want to share anything unpleasant or uncool which wouldn’t go with their image on social media?
We all want to show the world that we’re happy – may it be when we’re eating something, travelling, having a good time with our friends or even just sitting doing nothing. It’s human nature to portray a good picture that’s believable and potentially makes people desire the same things. I do know people in my circle whose social media profiles are picture perfect but almost everything behind that is questionable. The optimist in me, always opting to see the good in everything believes that the validation of their content on social media could somehow help these people set things straight in their lives. I may be wrong but if I were them, I wouldn’t want the world to know anything about what wasn’t right in my life.
Having been a social media user since the last decade, I too have been influenced in many ways, followed several trends, been a part of the changes in all the years gone by and witnessed how much it has changed the way we share and consume information. As an advertising professional, the one thing that I truly enjoy is understanding how lesser known brands, bloggers and influencers are using social media. There’s no farce here as their work is all for commercial reasons. Their content, collaboration with other brands and just the fact that they’re so passionate about what they do has always influenced me to find what brings the most amount of happiness to me and work towards it.
I have often felt encouraged to try different things which I only ever gave a thought to but never really indulged in. Cooking and writing are both examples of how I indulged in them as an outcome of heavy social media consumption. Cooking was the one thing I was never naturally inclined towards. I learnt how to cook at the age of 28 only because it was need based. But seeing bloggers make cooking look so simple and interesting made me take one step forward and not only learn different recipes but also come up with my own variations. I slowly began to understand why cooking is considered to be a de-stresser and therapeutic as an experience altogether. I discovered the joy of feeding my loved ones and bonding over various recipes with friends from all over the world.
While writing has most certainly been one of my beloved skills, I only felt the urge to pen down my thoughts when I would read posts and articles by industry experts and influencers. Well written articles always have a lasting impact and something to take away from. That being a big learning for me, I decided to turn that long lost desire into reality and in turn influence whoever I can in the smallest possible way through my personal experiences. Giving my thoughts a form of expression is beyond liberating.
As they say, the Internet is what you make of it. So is social media. You can either choose to continue creating false impressions or falling victim to it or use it to learn different things from the world over, develop new skills and influence communities positively. It’s your oyster. Use it smartly.