I joined the world of Social media back in 2016 when I was still in high school. Seeing a few friends get popular in school because of the things they posted on their accounts got me thinking, "Hmm.. I wish I was this popular in school too". This is where my whole life took a turn. An opportunity for growth gradually became an addiction, a drug; things went from "I got a hang of this" to "I can't handle the stress anymore!" quickly. My art page grew rapidly and crashed the same way too. This is my story as to why Social media is a drug in disguise:
At the start, I was excited to put out my content, I was super hyped when my first post hit 499 likes on Instagram in just 24 hours. I felt like I could be a well-known 'popular' student in the school. Later on, I found myself comparing myself to people and I felt like I was worthless and this pressure led me to being insecure and not focusing on my studies, thus, I deleted my account on social media, although it was heartbreaking as I did create some momentum there.
During my journey on Instagram, I was able to engage with my followers with the use of authentic content and this showed an increase in my follower count day by day. The recognition I got for my art work posted led to me being popular in school as everyone wanted me to sketch for them and this boosted my confidence as well as my self esteem. However, this did stop me from giving more time to studies and spending time with my family. Social media had taken over my life and I had no control over my strong addiction.
According to Germany Kent (n.d), “The internet is a dangerous place. If you are not careful it will consume you and rob you of your happiness. It can make you angry, jealous, hostile, bitter and lead to the eventual loss of enthusiasm for living your best life. Be wary and avoid over consumption”. When I first started losing my mental peace from social I started taking breaks frequently I realized that was important as immersing myself in social media had me feeling exhausted I wasn’t able to divert the negativity which I received the particular quote by Germany Kent showed me that I knew that I needed to stay away from the physically and mentally draining social platforms and needed to work on myself.
Alexis Ohanian (n,d) stated that “It takes discipline not to let social media steal your time”. At a point in life I was consumed by the social media world I used to use my phone for upwards of 14 hours a day not taking a break. My addiction got so bad that I couldn’t live without my phone in my hand I had panic attacks when my phone missing. I felt guilty for what I had become. That's the point where I realized that I lost the discipline in me I needed to get away from the online world and needed to detox.
To conclude, Social media can bring the worst out of you. When you need something so badly you will start to notice everyone wants it too, but this shouldn't be a reason why we should feel like this can never be achieved. A lesson to myself will be just to focus and work hard in what I'm pursuing, rather than seeing what others have to say and demotivate yourself. I adopted a new self in me by having a craze for being popular. I became someone in the online world who wasn't anywhere close to the real me in the real world. Excessive use of social media led me to nothing but greed, fame, and hatred only. Having 'thick skin' is the most important thing that you will need. No one will stop us if we are inspired to work hard, understand, and fulfill our dreams, and this way we will not be affected by other people's negativity. Many of the most popular social media pages succeed over time because they keep their posts authentic and don't compare themselves to others.
Enrolling in Udemy's 'Social Media Marketing Mastery' course, which can be completed in four weeks, is one way I can develop myself for the future. This course will show me all of the pros and cons of Instagram marketing, as well as how to make money off my art. This course would be very beneficial to me because I want to sell my artwork and reach a wider audience. All of this will benefit me in determining the right times to post so that I can increase sales of my artworks. After I've learned all of this information, I'll add it to my Instagram account and make sure I don't get the same negative impact as the last time.
References:
Brainy Quote, n.d. Alexis Ohanian. [Online] Available at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/alexis_ohanian_532050 [Accessed 8 March 2022].
GoodReads, n.d. Germany Kent. [Online] Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/10103661-the-internet-is-a-dangerous-place-if-you-are-not [Accessed 8 March 2022].