The Great Social Media Swindle

ME, MYSELF & SOCIAL MEDIA Offering a different kind of Kool-Aid online 

WHEN SOCIAL MEDIA STARTED its rounds some two decades ago, I already have my doubts about it. Not that I don’t use one today, I’m simply skeptical every time I post something online. It is as if I’m surrendering a part of myself unwittingly but with consent. And that sounds drugged.

It is as if I am in a trance. There were times when I felt pressured to post something online just for the sake of staying relevant, that is if you construe relevancy as a force of habit. That might be the thing why cooking up something shocking or unusual on social media is fast becoming the groove for us to keep afloat amid this sea of feeds online. 

I might have become a voyeur without realizing it. Yes, taking a peek at someone else’s life puts a smile on my face at times. Now that looks creepy, to start with. But since many would want to advertise their sorry lives on social media, I might as well return the favor and actively participate as a mere spectator and accomplice to this hysterical, mind-boggling mania. 

And I’m still shocked that others would go to great lengths just to splurge their stuff online. I don’t mince words, though, but there’s something clinical going on in between these strange postings, and it isn’t necessarily healthy. I'm a good sport, but unless you’re high or may have gone nuts, you wouldn’t want to put yourself in harm’s way whereby people would poke fun at you through memes or videos, and you think it’s cute because they’re commenting on it and sharing them at the same time.

You might have heard this cliché back then, but there goes your "15 minutes of fame", or, in this case, shame. What was once a bizarre quote has now come to fruition through social media, no less, and everybody has a shot at it? How breezy would that be! That’s even unthinkable when I was growing up. In those days, you have to be a popular politician or a film star to have that rare moment in the air. 

Of course, there were red flags along the way; like privacy issues or tampering or infringement on intellectual property. That has always been the cross social media has to carry since day one. But, who cares? All you need is a platform where you could share your weird wares online or propagate an absurd idea, and you’re on your way to Kansas, even if it’s a head-scratcher. 

There has to be some sense somewhere. And I simply don’t know where this runaway train will eventually arrive. All I could think of is its frightening pace and the influence it has on our consciousness. Sure, it has some perks, but the potential dangers are more subtle than I could probably imagine. 

And to say that it hasn’t influenced my life at all is nothing short of hypocritical. If you wake up and you immediately open your phone and squint your eyes on that newsfeed instead of washing your face or taking a leak, that’s when you know you’re on the bandwagon. You may find it moronic if you go with the flow, but these days, what else is there to do besides that? I doubt if you have any.