The Importance Of Being Grounded In Social Media



Recently, a teen just broke the Internet with a no holds barred, tell- all video about the lies and shit on Social Media. It's what me and my BF have been talking about (not her, but this whole Social Media life that we're living now) for the last few weeks and here she is, which urged me to lay down my thoughts. I know you've read a dime a dozen of essays about her already so I'll make mine short and sweet.

This teen had a lot of good points in her vid: go out, walk your dog, go to a café, meet people; things that that matter and what social media has taken away from us and we've given away ever so easily in exchange for life in tiny, square metal devices. She meant well and by the way, why aren't we doing these often nowadays? 

What I don't quite agree with is how she made it seem that Social Media is purely evil and fake; it's not. It's neutral, therefore it can be good or bad, true or false just like show business and politics. It is what you think it is and how you fashion it to be.

But then I won't go pointing fingers at anyone. Fine, if majority thinks Social Media is a big, fat, wet, lie, then let it be known that we all made it that way; it's not just the fault of one party; A offers the lie, B takes the lie, and C likes the lie; we're all part of this shit. As someone who's been in this world for the last 7 years or so, I'd like to tell you that surprise, surprise-this is not unique in our industry.


My take away from the video is this: Let this teen serve as a lesson that before you nosedive into anything and in this case, the glitzy world of Social Media, it is important to be a grounded individual first.

Why do you want to be in Social Media? What's your purpose? When I started Blogging, my reason was simple: I want to write about makeup. That's it. It just evolved into inspiring fellow Morenas to love their skin and this is what drives me to blog now. My purpose kept me grounded. 
Your purpose is your identity; it will guide you and keep you from going astray in Social Media; More importantly, your purpose should be bigger than yourself: Aiming for 1,000 likes per photo won't get you far nor having a sizable following, real or fake; instead, aim for something that will change not only your life, but the lives of the people around you as well.

When you're grounded, you'll realize that having more of material abundance such as likes, followers (real and fake), and money are not the only keys to happiness; doing something that you really love doing and supporting brands and people who resonate with you are far better than these even if they pay a measly amount or sometimes, nothing at all. I was once approached by a hospital to review their facilities and say that they're the best to the tune of P80,000.00. I declined the offer. I dread being in a hospital because it's a place where people wail and die; how do I expect myself to create a positive review for it? Besides, how do you even review a hospital?!?!?!

Finally, being grounded is to know yourself, your wants, your aspirations, and your dislikes; you let Social Media know who's the boss and you don't let it own you. Remember, you're the one who has the brain!

Social Media is a cool place, a great ground for expression, and a means for me to improve my real life-this is how I treat it and it's been doing me great; our relationship has been smooth and steady for the last 7 years. With that, let me remind you again that Social Media is just Social Media-what it becomes is how you build it and live in it, lie or truth, fake or real!

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23 Comments

  1. Agree with you are life doesn't revolve around social media we just use it to express ourselves but, it never makes our lives revolve.

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  2. Wonderful thoughts Ms.Martha. Totally agree on the whole Social Media thing. And it's just sad that when there are trending topics like someone totally made a mistake people are going to say a million different insults just to prove their point. And they don't even know the whole story. I hope social media will be used as you've said lives of people and not destroy them.

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    1. In the same way, I hope that others won't use social media to destroy other people.

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  3. Social Media can be harmful if we let it control us. Don't be insecured of yourself just because of all those beautiful faces and bodies that you see on IG. Don't get too hooked on the latest fashion and makeup trends that's not suited for your body type or skintone. Use social media to have some entertainment, get updated with the latest news, connect to your loved ones and friends, learn, get motivated and inspired and gather information on things that really matters.

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  4. I remember when I was in elementary and high school, there is always that one english teacher who will ask the class to do a debate and the topic will be "Internet: Good or Evil". It's all about how it is used. That's it!

    I guess you review a hospital by their facilities? I don't know, good doctors have different clinics in different hospitals. *shrugs*

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    1. I don't know...I don't really know how I will review a hospital lol. :p

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  5. Very beautiful and helpful post for writers and bloggers. You write from the heart, and I love that about you. I just want to tell you Ms. Martha, that I just started writing my blog, Philppines Etcetera. It's a work in progress, just followed my gut to start writing again. I was in the school paper in high school.

    I just want to tell and thank you, as you are one of the inspirations as to why I started to do this blog. Doing it as a hobby, as writing is what I really love to do. It's a helpful exercise of the brain for me as well. I love the Philippines, and it's one topic I know best to write about.

    Have a great night, Ms. Martha. May you have millions of followers and subscribers of your blog! Take care.

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    1. Thank you, Ana. I'm happy to know I've inspired one soul today. :) Keep on writing.

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  6. Very well said! I told my friends, when this issue came out, that social media is not fake. It's simply a tool and it takes the form of however we use it as.

    I've always loved going to your blog for makeup recommendations on morena skinned women. :D

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    1. You're welcome. And I salute you for being a body warrior and using your blog and voice to help women become more appreciative of their bodies. :)

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  7. Well said. I agree with everything you said. Actually, for me, she made that choice in the first place, to use social media for glamour. As for me, I use social media as a way to share what I do naturally. I use social media to connect with other people, not compete with them.

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    1. To connect to each other is I think is the main purpose of social media! :D

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  8. You have shared here many useful information here with us. Really like the blog you have posted . got many thing to know. Thanks and keep updating more with us.

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  9. I agree that social media is a tool that can be harmful if you use it that way. I've been on social media for as long as I can remember, and it helps me keep up to speed on current events, trends, and various sources of inspiration.

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    1. Glad to know you're using it for the betterment of yourself and others. :)

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  10. The point of social media is to build confidence through likes and followers.

    Which becomes "evil" when we begin to rely on the numbers. If there are less than 10 likes, people don't like our post (so we end up erasing it). If there are more than 50 likes, we have to keep posting the same photo with different angles to get more likes.

    Also becomes useless that we celebrate the number of followers. Doesn't mean that 200k people likes you or your feed. Probably half of them are making fun of you.

    The point is, don't use social media to answer your insecurities, and/or gain confidence in your mundane life. If you want to be interesting, do something worthwhile that you totally enjoy and are passionate about. If you are passionate about writing, then blog away. But keep blogging not to earn viewers, but to help people see your perspective and perhaps inspire them to change.

    Awesome post girl! Not really into make-up but you made me see that not all make-up enthusiasts are all for the glamour and the trend. There are some (like you) that are in it for the passion.

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    1. Hi Fanana,

      Thank you for sharing your insights on the issue at hand. :)

      Yep, I could say that I'm here because of passion! I just love makeup that's all! :D

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  11. I guess people see things on HOW they want to perceive it. We should always remember that our intentions greatly affect our actions. So maybe you're right, you were here with pure intents and purpose, that is why you see Social Media differently.

    Thanks for reminding us that life is not just about likes and shares and whatnot. That sometimes we need to disconnect to connect. :)

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    1. Hi Fatima, thanks for visiting. I appreciate you for sharing your thoughts.

      I'd like to believe that everyone has pure intents; pure is purely subjective to me; what defines us in the end is how we design our path based on the choices we make. :)

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  12. True! This is so true, I was agreeing and nodding while reading this post. I honestly didn't watch the video, but I saw one of her photo and caption. This may sound harsh but it seems like she's pointing fingers about what happened to her but really she has no one to blame but herself. She let the likes, comments and money consume her.

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    1. At the end of the day, your glory or demise is up to you!

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  13. hear, hear! Social media is just a tool. people should manipulate it, not the other way around. we should also live our life without posting everything on the web. :)

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Let me know what you think of this post! :)