Social Media and My Online Presence

 

My Social Media Usage 

The leading two platforms I use are YouTube and Whatsapp. Sometimes I'll use Reddit to learn about niche topics or answer questions, but I rarely use it. I used to use hangouts when I was a kid, but I have since opted to use Whatsapp instead. The three most prevalent ways I use social media are for content consumption, learning to do something, or keeping in touch with friends and family. Privacy is very important to me when using social media, so I never post any personal information on a public platform. I also try to avoid platforms that I know will become addicting to me. TikTok is a good example of this. I feel like the abundance of content plus how short they are keeps me hooked to my phone to scroll mindlessly longer than I want. This is an issue I've been having with YouTube recently where the app automatically sends you to YouTube shorts when opened. And just as I feared, I soon became addicted to scrolling through the shorts while not realizing how much time I was spending doing nothing. I found a way to bypass this to an extent now and don't have shorts pop up immediately when opening the app. I don't typically like to post or reply to comments as I never really have a need for it, so my YouTube usage is primarily for content consumption and learning. I've done this since I first was introduced to YouTube, and any personal behavior related to the platform in typically been consistent before and now. The main difference is a shift in the type of content I consume now. 

WhatsApp on the other hand is where most of my online social interactions occur. Initially, I used it more to converse with a group of friends that I had in high school. My usage earlier on was usually directed to group settings. However, as time went on, I found that I prefer to talk more on an individual level, and most of my conversations are now private. A lot of my do's of social media apply more to using WhatsApp. I try to be mindful of the fact that a text conversation is not the same as an in-person one, and it is important to try and set up your tone clearly and try to interpret the other person's tone more consciously. Otherwise, I've found that there are many unnecessary misunderstandings that occur. I actually like to use the voice recording feature to help with this as it is easier to understand the time and see it up because it is audio. There are more nuanced personal preferences I have using the app as well. For example, I don't send screenshots of chats without permission from the other people involved unless there is some emergency reason that I absolutely must. My idea of using Whatsapp centers around the concept that I am still having a private conversation whether that is on a group level or an individual one. I assumed before that this was the general mindset that others shared, but I soon figured out that sharing screenshots and forwarding messages is quite common. I typically dislike it as you are only sending bits and pieces of information without context, and I have seen people use this maliciously before. I don't want to do it to others and don't want it done to me, and my friends are understanding of this and usually ask me to forward things I send. This is one of the things that I wish I knew earlier; sharing personal information is so easy with social media and you really don't have any control over who sees what after posting something. 

How I Feel About Social Media Overall 

I think social media is an amazing way to explore self-expression. It allows you to connect with people with similar interests, learn new things, and be engaged with others. One of my friends watches an anime called One-Pice, and she is part of the online community. I myself have never found a very specific community that I am constantly part of, but hearing about her experiences has taught me about the vastness of the internet. However, many forms of "self-expression" are also hateful, and discriminatory, misinformed. These kinds of expressions can have dire consequences for people in the real world. The expectation of a perfect online presence has led many people to develop insecurities and mental disorders, and all over an image that doesn't exist in the real world. Setting community/guidelines and policies can help maintain a respectful and inclusive online community. By the same token, restriction and rules can also lead to censorship and pushes content to users with propagated messages set by the administrators. Taking breaks from social media can help maintain mental health, and I belive that it is good to take breaks. However, quitting will only isolate you in a world where the digital presence is quickly becoming the dominant one. Overall, I believe that social media is neither negative nor positive, but users are the ones who end up polarizing it, and everything should be used in moderation.