Wasting time on social media

October is mental health month, so I thought it might be useful to write one of the biggest things that have been messing with my head during my time in university - social media. It was actually a song that brought these concerns to the forefront of my mind. Korean R&B artist DEAN's "instagram" is a haunting yet beautiful social commentary on the role of social media in our day-to-day lives. Online vs. reality The song really triggered some deep reflection for me in how I think about what I see on my phone versus what I actually believe exists. The people who are seemingly living a lavish lifestyle every day are not the standard by which I should judge my own real-life successes and failures. Information overload The song made me think about just how much information about the world around us we process every day as a result of this social media age. Knowing about every major tragedy of the day around the world can seriously mess with our perceptions of the world. I think that this high concentration of negativity is detrimental to my mental wellbeing. Isolation "sometimes i feel alone  even when i'm with a lot of people  i feel  i feel like i'm robinson crusoe"  - instagram by DEAN This feeling that he describes of isolation even when surrounded by millions of people online really resonated with me. We can all see what each other are expressing on the surface-level when we're on the internet, but we can never know how each other truly feel. This can only be achieved through authentic face-to-face human interaction, I feel. As a student I'm someone who falls into "scrolling sprees" pretty easily. One second I'm checking Facebook for school and club related information, and the next I'm watching a video about how to make microwavable meals. DEAN's "instagram" has made me much more aware of how we can get sucked into this digital world and end up wasting time that we will never get back.    

1 comment on “Wasting time on social media

  1. “…facebook for school and club related information, and the next I’m watching a video about how to make microwavable meals” – Every. Single. Day. T.T

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