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!