Thursday, March 13, 2014

Building A Positive Attitude To Engage On Social Media

“Welcome to Facebook. The place where relationships are perfect, liars believe their own bullshit, and the world shows off they are living a great life. Where the enemies are the ones that visit your profile the most, your friends and family block you, and even though you write what you are thinking, there is always someone that takes it to the wrong way.” I don’t know who came up with this and why but the first time I read it, it entertained me a lot. The second time I read it, I found it sarcastic. As I read it over and over, I felt like there was more negativity in it yet it describes  a lot of today’s reality. Social media is starting to take too much space in our lives. As much as there is positivity circulating on it, there is unfortunately that much of negativity on it also. My purpose in writing this post is to hopefully help some of you control all of what you've been absorbing from these social media networks.

Social media has its advantages when it comes to sharing information. You might be using it for good reasons such as getting updates on your interests. If you like to get the latest updates on sports, celebrities, fashion, seasonal activities, etc,  go like/follow those pages! They are well designed mostly because of a professional staff handling them. Using social media to gain more information on what you like is a good motive. Speaking of myself, social media has played a big role in my life because of its usefulness when it comes to discovering more about things that are of my interest.

I believe the biggest reason why social media is here in today’s world is obviously to make it easier for us to connect with people. That surely doesn't replace the human interaction you can have with people but if you can respect a friend’s time and thoughts dedicated to you as he or she connects with your virtually, it’s probably the least you can offer to someone if both of you are busy in your respective world. If you are one of those who always gets your way to see the ones you want to see, then good for you. You can stop reading here. Otherwise if you are busy among your personal issues and responsibilities, I don't see anything dramatically wrong in connecting virtually. I know that I connect with people virtually as I feel the need of it at times and I do satisfy myself with that if I am really not in the possibility to meet up with someone in person. That being said, it’s not because some people are not in my present that I don’t think about them. On the other hand, I’d be still thinking about them regardless of social media existing or not, but if social media can help me let them know that I think about them, I don't see why I would stop myself.

As for what’s presented to you via social media from friends, I think a lot of people don't understand or misunderstand that they're just getting the highlights of how people are living in their little world or at what stage they are in life. Nowhere are you getting other details related to those updates posted by your friends. People are not plugged 24 hours on 24 on the web to post their updates every few minutes. So there is absolutely no need to assume that people who share their happiest moments have a perfect life or are just showing off how much of a good life they have. People's intentions as they share their updates can be so much different than you just judging them for having intentions of showing off. 

As a matter of fact, I know that social media has affected some people around me negatively because they absorb too much on what’s presented to them and don’t really think about the hidden details behind someone posting happy updates. If you are living a happy life, then why would you need to compare your happiness to others? And on the other side, why do you need to judge others by thinking that those who are posting their happy updates are just showing off? I know this is easily said but might be tough to do it and that's why I want you to think on both ends and for you to understand that you shouldn't have to compare your happiness to others whether it's to put yourself down or put others down. I look for positive intentions behind people’s happy updates just because there is enough negativity in the real world, so why spread negativity on other people’s posts via social media? As much as there are chances of someone faking their happiness on social media, there are that many chances that that person is sharing his or her genuine moments. Why act like a hater?

Another of today’s unfortunate reality is that sometimes people are just waiting to create problems with one another on social media. They won’t make much efforts to truly appreciate your good posts or dedicate any genuine good thought to you but will take the wrong meaning by some of your posts. Instead of really staying away from your page, they will simply not miss any opportunity to write a sarcastic comment on your page sadly. This can be a frustrating situation for anyone as it's hard to control people's negative thoughts. I don't know what the best solutions are to deal with this but I definitely recommend the following: either to ignore the comment or to turn that sarcastic comment into something positive by replying to it in an entertaining way if possible. Social media is just not the place to create problems with anyone or to behave mean with someone. If your problem with someone is a real life issue, then try to resolve it by contacting the person in real life instead of clicking the "like" button or commenting for sarcastic reasons. Keep in mind that real life relationships should not be messed up via social media.

To conclude this post, I would just like to remind you that when you engage yourself on social media sites, it’s primarily your responsibility to pick what you want to absorb and what you don’t want to. Don’t destroy your mental peace because of social media. Don’t use it to put yourself down or to silently hate someone; use it with a good purpose such as for healthy entertainment. Also remember that being on social media is not at all an obligation to live in today’s society. There are still people who are not at all on any of these social media sites. I hope you are fortunate enough to have at least one such person in your life because that person will be enough to make you realize that he or she doesn't exist on Facebook for anyone and yet is making a living outside of social media. Enjoy social media safely!