ALL THE BLAH BLAH BLAH!

This is a difficult post for me to write, as I know I'm talking about myself as much as I'm talking about others.?Perception is Projection after all.?What we see in others is really only what we see in ourselves.??

I try not to spend too much time on social media, as I know it's a time-waster.?Sometimes I get caught watching 1 dog video, and then the algorithms suck me down a rabbit hole of video after video after video, and an hour of my life has vanished for ever.?Have you experienced this??I know many of you have.?What do you get stuck in a loop watching??

According to a recent survey on smartinsights.com, the average daily time spent on social media is almost 2.5 hours a day.??

Imagine what you could do with 2.5 hours a day if you weren't on social media??Learn a new language, learn the skills for a promotion or a new career.?Learn investment strategies.?Connect with your loved ones.?Sculpt yourself a new body.?The list is endless.??

It makes me think about the purpose of all this content.?Why does it exist in the first place???

In general, it is individuals posting content to be seen, to connect with others, to share their opinions, to make people laugh, to make people think, to sell their products.?Some people are posting probably because they are bored, because they want attention, because they want to shock or they want people to see them as the expert in their field.??

So many experts.??All of us competing in a crowded market to be the poster child of our profession, to get the most likes, the most comments, the most sales.

I post a lot, as I try to build my brand, and to be honest, it's relentless.??

It is said that social media is 'fake' because people only post the 'positive' side that they want people to see.?But don't we all do that all day long, whether we are on social media or not??

We all put our best foot forward when we leave the house, and this doesn't change when we are on social media.?We are either the 'bestest' at what we do, or the best looking, or the most loved, or the most successful, or on the other extreme, the most suffering.?I cringe every time I see the words "vulnerability post" or videos of people filming themselves cry; it screams "Give me attention!" It feels even more narcissistic than all the 'perfect' posts.?

I love this quote from Canadian author Robertson Davies:?

“We all create an outward self with which to face the world, and some people come to believe that is what they truly are. So they people the world with doctors who are nothing outside of the consulting-room, and judges who are nothing when they are not in court, and businessmen who wither with boredom when they have to retire from business, and teachers who are forever teaching. That is why they are such poor specimens when they are caught without their masks on….” (Robertson Davies, The Manticore)

So what am I going to do about it???

Everyone has free will and everyone can do what they like, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.??

Everyone has the freedom to post whatever they like, whenever they like, this is the freedom of speech that social media gives us.?And this is a blessing, and should never be taken away from us.??

It is also a curse, as it means every time you open up your social media app you are bombarded with everyone's points of view, and everyone's lives, all at once.??

What can I do about this??How can I be part of the solution, not part of the problem???

I'm not going to stop putting content out there, but I want it to be a different type of content.??

I want to stop playing safe, stop being nice all the time.??

I want to write more polarising content; what some people may see at controversial. ?

I want to share points of view that oppose popular views.?To offer something different.

Starting from today.??