Hello to anyone reading this,
I thought that maybe addressing my readers would make me seem more approachable and relaxed; seeing as the first post ever made was an ever-so-serious essay I wrote about refugees and sovereignty for my International Security module. Heavy stuff. Did pretty well.
In today's age, it may seem as though social media has dominated the world: from Instagram to Facebook, we use these platforms as a way to connect with the world at large, through the means of communication that are offered by each of these applications. Connecting with an individual living halfway across the globe has never been easier: a simple wifi or data connection and you can feel the world's horizons at your fingertips.
That being said, this form of communication isn't as formal as one may initially believe: when we think of connecting with others through social media, we tend to think of direct messaging. Seems like the most efficient way of communicating, right?
Wrong.
Social media has reshaped what it means for us to establish social relations. We have recently adapted an inherently indirect means of communication that doesn't involve any direct exchange with any other users: a simple like on your childhood friend's engagement post and a simple comment including two emojis with heart-shaped eyes and a curt "Congratulations!" is enough communication to last you another five years. We all know you're jealous of her engagement ring, Jessica, there's no need to hide it.
Often times, our interactions with other followers are so subtle that they might not even be aware that they're being interacted with. In a society that consistently downplays the validity of our emotions - which is justified by the century-old idea that vulnerability will inevitably lead to our demise - we have been led to believe that if we are hurt by the actions of someone we are close with, we musn't address our feeling with them directly.
Rather, we must gain their attention through cryptic Instagram stories playing Mitski's "Nobody" with a picture of the crying cat meme in the background- or, if you're under the age of thirteen (and if you still do this as an adult, you need psychological help) you'll post a profoundly cringe-worthy snapchat of a mirror selfie with the caption "nObOdY hMu, OnLy My FrIeNdS kNoW wHaTs WrOnG". Yes, I am in fact making fun of people who still do this.
Either that or you're crying in your bed wondering why your crush didn't like your post.
I know what you're thinking: Julia, most of us are fully-fleshed adults, we don't get sucked into the whirlpool of teenage melodrama. Well *generic-over-the-age-of-eighteen-individual-reading-this*, you couldn't be more wrong.
If displaying emotional vulnerability is already considered a form of weakness in most western societies, and social media has perpetuated an indirect and lessened form of social communication- then it becomes obvious how social media has enforced this emotional apathy in every day social interactions.
It's the reason why emotional attachment in intimate relationships is constantly belittled as an unrealistic ideal in romance, which is peristently portrayed as being embedded in neediness. It's the reason why we feel that much more uncomfortable when witnessing one of our classmates or coworkers cry unexpectedly. It's the reason why we feel so reluctant in sharing our feelings with a friend, because we're deeply afraid they will judge us as we have judged them and others. If neediness is considered a form of vulernability, then we would rather suppress this than release it at the risk of being outcasted by a deeply apathetic social environment.
All if this is reinforced by social media, which has isolated our means of communication in a way we have historically speaking, never seen before.