In my recent days as a blogger, I came to realize a lot of people that I thought were great, were not. All the things they were saying were big no no’s and practices that they would NEVER do, they themselves were doing. They follow/unfollow, they work for product only, they exclude people, they don’t follow through on commitments. They are friends on Instagram, when the reality is they talk badly about each other. It’s opened my eyes to a side of social media I wanted to believe didn’t exist.
Let’s be real for a second. Real life is hard, real life is dirty, and real life is messy. It’s not a house filled with perfectly staged beds and organized closets. Yet, society and social media have us believing that’s what it looks like. Behind that feed could be a woman that is crying because she struggles with depression, or her mom is losing her battle to cancer. It’s not her real life. With two girls growing up this social media driven world, I want them to know the not so pretty side to social media.
IT’S NOT REALITY. It’s a painted picture of what everyone wants you to see. It’s filled with filters and editing apps that make you skinnier, your eyes bigger, and your teeth whiter. Just like magazines social media is edited. The only thing that makes it different is, we all claim it’s real life. This is making women more competitive and more self conscious then ever before.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PRIVACY. Privacy settings just make it harder for people to see your profile. If someone really wants to and they have the abilities to do so, they can see everything. People can steal your photos, can start a profile with your name on it and many other terrifying things.
PEOPLE MAY NOT ALWAYS BE WHAT THEY SEEM. Just like the privacy issues, someone else can pretend to be someone they aren’t, just to be your friend. So, be careful of who you accept as a friend and who you trust. Even if you think you know someone, it’s easy to hide behind a computer and pretend to be someone’s friend.
LIKES AREN’T EVERYTHING. You can’t judge your worth by how many likes a photo receives. Likes aren’t life.
GEOTAGS ARE SCARY. Letting people know your locations and checking in to your favorite lunch spot makes it much easier for people to find you. You should always use with caution.
BLOCKING IS OK. Blocking can save your life. Whether it’s a bully from school or a complete stranger it’s ok to block them.
I worry for our children entering a world filled with so much competition and rejection. Bullying has gone from face to face, to cyber. Personally, I will hold out as long as I can from allowing my girls to have their own social media accounts. Which as a blogger will be hard, but I feel like I need to protect them and make sure they truly understand the dangers that can come from social media. I want them to love themselves and be the strong and joyful children they are now for years to come.
You can follow Megan on Instagram or visit her blog at The Fashionista Momma.