Social media, a necessary evil?

A few weeks ago I woke up to a post on Instagram where a young woman had created a fake account of another lady. She went ahead to add pictures of her from Facebook, twitter and everywhere else on the internet. She put up some pretty embarrassing posts and comments along with the pictures plus anything else that could destroy the other womans reputation, then she added and followed her friends and acquaintances. Her reason for doing this, the woman 'stole' her man so this was some sort of revenge.

It reminded me of yet another incident on Facebook where a girl posted pictures with her 'very loving, adorable, partner' who she was soon to walk down the aisle with, only he was already someone else's husband. Both the wife and mistress found out they were being played on this day.

These are just examples of many other endless insults, fights, embarrassments, gossip, confessions, revelations, the loss of privacy and numerous unpleasant things that happen on these socials networks that makes me wonder if it's doing more harm than good. Malicious people can do just about anything they want with the information we avail them. And we all know you can't be careful enough if you are an active user. So is it really worth it?


Let's not forget the amount of time it consumes us out of the real world. I am a self confessed social network addict of sorts (even if I'm in denial sometimes). I can tell you that it really does take a toll on how you relate with people in the real world. I look at the time I spend on the internet verses the time I talk to people in the real world and it's actually scary. I am not sure what a day without internet would do me. I don't need rehab yet but I sure need to spend more time appreciating things and people I can actually feel and touch. Many times you have missed parts and pieces of a good conversation with someone because you are paying more attention to the virtual world. Sometimes it's more interesting, right? haha.

'Selfie' in an elevator

You know you're an addict if; you constantly check you phone without even noticing and it doesn't matter where you are, you ask people on social media for advice about all your troubles and actually believe what they say, you have to check what's happening on your Facebook, Tweeter, Wasapp, Instagram news feed before you go to bed and as soon as you wake up, a day doesn't go by that you don't take a 'selfie' (a picture of a person taken by that person, in case you're wondering what that is), your esteem thrives on compliments, likes and the number of followers you have on social media, everyone knows everything about your life EVERYDAY like the food you ate, your ungrateful wife, your neighbors cute dog, bla bla bla. Get some help!


I call it a necessary evil because even after we have seen and continue to witness the most horrific things happen on these social networks, we are still here and immersing ourselves in it even deeper.

I have had some really wonderful moments on social media that I never would have experienced. Reuniting with old, childhood friends and relatives, sharing our joys, sorrows and achievements, meeting new people that have greatly impacted my life. Don't forget the free entertainment, sure boredom killer.
Living away from my country, it's a been a great way to keep close to friends and family. We don't feel like we miss each other that much because we are virtually in each others lives every single day.

You can tell so much about a person from what they make public. The bitter ones, the lost souls, the show offs, the self made 'philosophers', the happy ones, the complainers, the adventurous ones, the creepy ones, the 'haters' as they commonly call them, you name it.
Thing is, some people think really hard before they put up anything, others will just go with the emotions at the moment. So don't be fooled by all of it, a good number of people put up exactly what they want the world to see and how they want it to be perceived whether it's real or fake or wishful thinking.

After going through the risks of 'posting my life', putting up pictures of myself and my family on social media, I freak out a bit. I'm even more shaken by the crazy stories I have read and heard. A friend of mine is so scared she has all these accounts signed up but uses pseudo names and doesn't post anything. This is for safety purposes, she advises, but where is the fun in that? It would be pointless for me if I couldn't use these platforms to share and interact.

So I chose to stay, at least  for now, and enjoy all the other benefits. A little caution is necessary though. You may not be able to stop a person who is out there to get you, but don't make it very easy for them either.
We have control over the information we avail to the virtual world. Try to chose what you post carefully. How personal you get, is up to you. Be aware that not everyone will like it or see it the same way but isn't that how it is in the real life too?
I am still working on limiting my time in the virtual world especially when I am in the company of real people or when I have important business to take care of, like my very cheeky 1 year old son that needs eyes on him full time.

We need to know that it's more important to impress real people who see who we really are than the virtual 'friends' who see the edited, picture perfect version of us. Take a minute and appreciate what the real world has to offer (you can take a picture and post it later, hehe).

I found the message in this video a very interesting eye opener, please take some time and watch it.

Happy social networking :-)

LT