What has social media done to us?

The more I look at it, the more I am convinced that social media has turned us humans into a narcissistic, self-obsessed race. It’s all about documenting our lives like we are part of some sort of reality TV show. And don’t even get me started on the selfie trend; I could write a whole post on how much I hate the selfie trend, but for now, let me just say- that has really taken narcissism to different levels. Is it just me or do other people also find it weird to be this obsessive?  

I mean really, photographing your life and showing it off to the world just seems to be such a tiring task. It’s like we’ve all become our very own paparazzi crew, our own agents showcasing our “talents” to the world. At the rate we are going, the concept of privacy will soon be extinct.

The saddest part is that the pictures portrayed to the world often do not match what really goes on. Behind the fake smiles and glitzy images of peoples so-called perfect lives is reality, and we all know that reality is far from perfect.

This brings to mind a Shakespeare quote from the play “As You Like It”, it goes like this:

“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances”

This honestly seems so appropriate to today’s world, far more appropriate than it was in Shakespeare’s time. Social media has indeed turned us into “players” in this “game of life”. Our lives are acts, shows put on for the world to see. A grand play for everyone to watch and comment on.

I just wonder, what will we do when it is our time to make our exit from this world? Have we done enough “real” things? Would our existence have made a meaningful difference, or have we wasted too much time showing off our lives for all the world to see?

How will we be remembered? 

I don’t know about you, but I would certainly want my life to be more than a portrayal on social media, and I definitely do not want to spend my life as an actor on a stage.

Image from here