"Hey! Look at my outfit ... my new shoes ... I'm beautiful ... I'm visiting an awesome place ... What a tasty food I'm eating ... I'm with the rich and famous...." These are the unspoken messages if not the outright captions of nearly all social media posts nowadays.
Well, why not? They're just the essence of a life that even parents of millennials are tempted to live. I'm glad I found a viral video that captures it all. Watching "A Social Life" on YouTube has prompted me to reflect on the kind of bondage that an excessive social media presence has been bringing into our lives. Like the young woman in the short film whose day revolves around taking selfies, posting status updates and checking notifications, we may not be aware that we have slowly succumbed into the following narcissistic tendencies:
1) Self Absorption
Self-absorbed individuals think and breathe: "It's all about me -- my OOTD and the total likes of my new selfie." And so, taking more selfie becomes a priority at the expense of building and nurturing meaningful relationships. The most important "buddy" is no other than the smartphone from the time they wake up until they fall asleep.
It's normal for the career-driven woman named Meredith in the award-winning short film to take countless selfies. It is -- for everyone else whose preoccupation is the self.
2) Self Deception
Meredith was not living the life she was posting, but she was made to believe she needed those likes. Deception does not only entail misleading self and others with exaggerated posts. It also includes the wrong belief that the attention and approval of other people are all that matter in life. With this comes the lie that it's all about us, and that we need more likes and positive comments to really feel good about ourselves.
Unless we wake up one day and see in front of the mirror how being too social has distorted our self-image and values, we will continue to be alienated and enslaved -- hiding behind the shadows of our selfies. It's an exhausting and far from normal life.
Can you identify with the social lady, Meredith? Please share your thoughts on the comment section below.
