What Is the Purpose of Social Media?
Why do we buy things we don't need, with money we don't have, to impress people we don't like? The beast of social media encourages us to infuse envy and jealousy on all who follow us. Why is that?
This is something I’ve pondered for a long time now. Why do we so badly want to make people jealous of us? When did social media become a platform to prop ourselves up as if to ask “don’t you wish you had my life?”
I know I used to view social media with that subconscious idea in my mind. If evoking jealousy was a crime, then I was guilty in the first degree.
But I was reminded of a nostalgic perspective when I was flipping through an old journal of mine from college. Tucked away in the corner of a page, I penned the following sentence:
“I want to climb the mountain so I can see the world, not so the world can see me.”
And I hope that no matter wherever I climb to, that remains true.
According to one website, social media is "designed to permit people to share content quickly, efficiently and in real-time." Another website claims the four main uses of social media are "sharing, learning, interacting, and marketing." And these are good things. In theory, there's nothing wrong with sharing content and engaging with others in real-time. In practice, however, most of us seek to impress with unrealistic portrayals of ourselves.
When I came to the sad realization that I sought to impress others with an unrealistic portrayal of myself, I changed my approach to social media. Now, I just try to create and share value. That's honestly it.
And the greatest byproduct of this shift in my social media mindset is that―now―I could care less about how many likes I get. I don't care about comments or "engagement." I don't use formulas or algorithms to increase my following.
I typically share what I'm learning that week, what I'm reading, and little glimpses here and there about my life. I don't know if that's the right or best approach, but it sure has created a lot more peace and joy in my life.
So I'm not sure what the purpose of social media is. But if it's to impress others with an unrealistic portrayal of ourselves, then maybe we need to reassess our role in it.