Life Worthwhile Off The Records
Not another story. Just a way of thinking.
I was born in 1997 and aged 24 now. My youth witness the rise of social media specially Facebook and Instagram. Back in 2012, when I first created my Facebook account, I was so amazed and compelled to log in quiet often. Having strict parents, I got no chance at least say ‘Hi’ to a peer girl. So that Facebook was like my god of salvation.
Some years later, I created my first Instagram in 2016 right after my Advanced Level exam. I had more time until results come and found my way towards try being an icon there. I still remember I posted a boat load of photos and texted with many girls. Frankly I spent a virtual life without any boundary.
Even though I was pretty young and wild, I had realized social media doesn’t help me with my future. It always had been a place where I wander to pass my time. This thoughts in the back of my mind compelled me to delete social media time to time but couldn’t last long. The rabbit hole I was imprisoned has been my habitat for ages.
However I’m now over it. I never really felt I belonged to the real world until I quit every media which has turned out to be a social media to me. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok and Snapchat are now out of my list. Even I’m barely maintaining my profile on LinkedIn.
Uber owns 0 vehicles. Uber Eats owns no restaurants. Airbnb owns no hotels. All of these big titles have provided a stage for those who are willing to act a particular role. Basically the users of Uber, Uber Eats and Airbnb fortifies the platform and earns money for the owners.
Likewise, Facebook, Instagram or any media akin to them charges you nothing to use their service. Then how they run companies? It’s simple. If you don’t pay for it you are the product they sell. In a nutshell, each of these medias sell you to third party companies.
But How? It’s ad campaigns and the boosted posts. Social media creates a definition for you based on what you do such as the videos you watch, likes you given, how much you were looking at a video etc. The giant companies make use of these digitally defined personas by selling it to Ad companies. What a smart way of making money.
It’s really easy to find YouTube videos on ‘What it is like to live without social media?’. But none of them triggered me to delete my list of energy vampires.
I personally like challenges. So, one day I challenged myself to to live a day without social media; any of them. Sad to say, I couldn’t. The urge to scroll a feed was over the roof. It was that day I realized I’m already a victim.
I was shocked and ashamed. Scattered and sad. I just deleted all my social media impulsively because of the shame. I thought I’m a CEO for my own self but I’m not able to shun myself using a mundane crap.
So far, the life without any of social media is fabulous and calm. I’ve a handful of good friends to talk daily who don’t care whether I’m on social media or not. That’s all enough for me. And I haven’t missed an important thing. I’ve just got rid of the rubbish.
I read news on CNet and newswire.lk as it’s good to be synced with the external world. Unsplash.com, being a gorgeous platform to upload my photography work, garnered me fame. And of course I write on Medium as well. So I’ve more things to do even online.
Importantly, I’m proud of my own self because I’m different and not following a path which is congested by others.
It’s all about how you feel about something and nothing about what others say. It’s not okay to bias to someone else’s saying and disastrous to be a slave to our own selves. Always ask why you do what you do. Especially when it comes to social media because it’s not only addictive, its manipulative.
