The world has evolved, including everything that dwells within it. We humans being the apex species as far earth is concerned, we are the tip of the spear driving the world towards the new normal. Our way of thinking and perspective of things are gradually changing, our world of analogue is gradually becoming fully digitalised. Change is constant, it is the reason behind every form of innovation and development but then, every change comes along with it's own effects.
As a human there is no longer the need to worry about distance whenever we wish to reach out to our loved ones, they are just one click away. The introduction of social media has brought the world closer like ever before. It also serve as means of opportunities for those who have earnest the privileges offered by social media to promote their businesses and also embark on building a career on social media such as being a social media influencer.
As an individual, over the years I have grown fond of the usage of social media to perform some activities most especially reaching out to people, advertise any kind of product or service I wish to create awareness for. Though I wouldn't say I'm actually a pro in making use of social media, looking at the rate at which I use social media to perform tasks, I still consider my activities on social media to be limited. Probably because I'm not really building any professional career on social media, maybe if that was the case i would have made use of social media more often.
Despite not frequently Making use of social media there are things I have noticed among it's users. it is quite obvious that everyone is free to act the way they want but to what extent. I have witnessed a lot of people most especially teenagers claim to be in possession of luxurious items just for fame and public validation. The most frustrating aspect of it is the length some people are willing to go in order to achieve this. It is so obvious that 80% of people on social media are not who they claim to be, it is either they are faking their riches or impersonating another person's identify.
One of the major promoters of this fake lifestyle on social media are celebrities. Due to the lifestyle being showcased on social media by celebrities, most teenagers have forsaken their real identity in pursuit of a lifestyle they can't afford. Majority of these items and wears displayed on social media by celebrities are actually borrowed or rented to be used in their videos or for modelling but this fact is not open to the members of the public because the celebrities would not say anything about the ownership, they all act like it is theirs.
It makes me wonder what is it they are trying to prove and why does it matter so much to showcase a fake life, can't you be yourself? the most annoying part of it is the impersonation aspect. The moment you try to search for a celebrity account or someone with fame you would see hundreds of fake account claiming to be who they are not. It is quite obvious that majority of this social media platforms are aware of this but chose to feign ignorant to it.
If someone like Simon leviev could make away with millions of dollars by claiming to posses things that he doesn't have and impersonating others for years without being held accountable for it. Until the victims had to feature in a documentary called the tinder swindler before the whole world could be aware of the atrocities he has committed. How many more of Simon do we have running around on social media these days.
Compared to smartphones that are manufactured with features that varies that increases its cost, social media does not have that luxury. Any teenager with access to Internet could own a social media account without paying a penny. Most social media platforms claim they have some kind of preventive measures that prevents underage from owning an account but it is not that effective. The issue is not really social media accounts but things a teenager can have access to by owning a social media account.
There are all kinds of inappropriate and uncensored content on social media that are not meant for teenagers. The most annoying part is the rate at wish teenagers assimilate every single thing they see on social media without filtering anything. It is like they consider everything on social media to be true which is not. There are people on social media who would talk about things you should have at a particular age and if a teenager does not see his/herself having those things, they start feeling like they have failed in life, it is not right.
What about matters of relationship, every teen wants to jump into a relationship these days because they have seen how beautiful lovers look on social media without knowing it is just an act. There are some challenges that exist in a relationship that are not displayed on social media. It is like social media has become a tool for mentally conditioning teenagers to only think in a specific way, to the extent that, if a teenager life doesn't look similar to what they seeing online, the next thing is to start living a fake life.
This write-up was inspired by week 23 SciFi multiverse prompt titled "Effect of social media on adolescents mental health" in SciFi multiverse community.
Cover image - 𝖣𝖾𝗌𝗂𝗀𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗏𝖺
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