The Social Life and the Social Lie

Are we oversharing?

Ever since it was invented, social media is a platform for sharing, expressing and communicating ideas and information. We’ve all been there. We shared, liked and replied to comments. We’ve tweeted our worst possible nightmares and we’ve captured images of our favorite OOTD. Truly, Social media is a tool for sharing personal information, creativity and knowledge. Through the years, We have been living in a world where sharing personal information is not only considered normal but encouraged. From specific personal details to events and special experiences in our lives, we tend to share them online no matter how funny or obscure the experience is. However, when do we know that sharing is considered too much? When do we know that we are already oversharing information and building a life full of lies on the internet? When do we know that it has become harmful and toxic? Why does oversharing and media lies relate to each other?

These are some of the questions I pondered with as I was watching the videos about the effects of social media in our Media and Information Literacy (MIL) class with Ms. Lojero. Since when I was little, I was so fascinated and optimistic with how technology, media, and the internet can provide so many possibilities and opportunities to a lot of people around the world. People can get famous by sharing their passions online, just like our favorite YouTubers, bloggers, and Insta-stars. It’s like an outlet where they can showcase their talents, inspire people with their words and encourage us to live the life of our dreams. But, As I grew older and realized the realities of our world, not everyone has the ability to be responsible online. In fact, we may have created a monster out of it that affects our mental health, whether we are aware of it or not. It has led to sugar coating the harsh truth and seeing life through rose-colored glasses in the form of our screens and monitors.

There's no doubt that life can get rough, and various storms, challenges, and difficulties will inevitably arise in our life. Some people deal with it peacefully, some people deal with it through actions and a positive mindset, but some people treat challenges and rough times as a possible new post online. I remember a relative of mine posted an argument that they have with their neighbors. She began ranting online and the people that saw the post wasn't even helpful and began to rant as well. Instead of being inspired and happy, the people who commented and saw the post felt anger and resentment. Meanwhile, Another one of my friends had a recent break up with her boyfriend, and she wanted to pay him back by posting happy and productive pictures of her online as if she's not hurting at all. But in reality, she's still suffering from the painful heartache no matter how many pictures and status updates she shared. I've also watched another video online where teenagers aged 12-15 can easily be fooled through dating apps. On the other hand, I've also watched another video online where social media can also be a source of depression. From these experiences and videos, the reason why posting so much and oversharing too much information on social media gets toxic and harmful is that we may use this information as a tool to endanger one's life, both the psychological lies (that may affect our mental health) and the actual danger in store for us (rape victims and stalker victims).

I like how these videos from Ms. Lojero's class had portrayed what the truth of living on a social media platform has given us the reason to value our virtual life instead of the real one. 

Valuing attention instead of real authentic relationships. 

We must strive to think and critically analyze everything we post online. We must become wiser and more knowledgeable about media's effects on our lives and how it changes our perception of the world. We must choose to be the guardians of the internet and start to inspire people with the truth rather than coating it with more lies. 

As my mother once said, We must think before we click. And it's really an important lesson for everyone to keep.