Social Media: An Extra Layer of Skin or a Security Blanket? Maybe Both.
posted by Jessica Slavett | November 9, 2018 | In OpinionWhen we share things on social media, I wonder, do we ever stop to think about how much of ourselves we are sharing with the world?
The world of social media, I think, functions like an extra layer of skin, covering our authentic selves.
We show snippets of ourselves on the internet; very rarely are you ever going to see the larger story of a person or an event.
Why is that?
Because in this world we are vulnerable, because in this world we are human. If you let someone in even just a little, you risk pain, because we are all human and all have a vice of some kind. We don’t all use them, which is why, also, consequently, when we let someone in, even just a little, we also are making ourselves open to the beauty of connectiveness, which is what so many people love about media in general, because there’s a human need to feel close to something larger than self.
But it goes back to that risk of pain; social media may function for some people as an extra layer of skin because of the fear of being found out for who they really are, whether for good or bad.
But maybe we view the connectiveness as security blanket; it could be a psychological desire to feel protected within our own community by feeling close to others.
In the real world, people have issues that impact them more directly, so the virtual world may serve as an extended family to make them feel safe and warm from their true world.
The human condition is a heart’s cry to experience something deeper, and in a lot of ways, I don’t think social media meets that need, which is why I fear, that if we continue seeking validation the way we are, that we’ll forget what it is we’re looking for.
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