As a journalist, I use social media to live tweet events and share links to my articles. As a millennial, I use social media to update everyone who may care about the daily events in my life — something cute that my dog did, if I’m going out with a friend and doing something fun, or if I’m eating something that looks so delicious I want to share it with the rest of the world. You betcha, it’s going onto the gram.
I’m not the only who tweets, posts, and selfies. Every few hours, I check my social media — Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram — to see what everyone in my circle is up to. And sometimes, it can be like information overload. Someone posts a status because they are feeling sad, personally victimized by someone, heartbroken, or posts a selfie every few days of you making the same old duck face.
Selfie, or it didn’t happen. Right?
With that being said, let me just say that I have a bone to pick with my fellow millennials — that bone is that certain things really should stay off of the digital world. While social media is a great tool for many reasons, I believe it can be a weapon of mass destruction when used incorrectly.
I’m talking about the private stuff, such as breakups and fights. Sure, it’s can feel amazing in the moment to post a status — dramatic or just venting. But, take a second. Think about who is going to read that status. And, most importantly, think about how it makes you look. If you are calling someone a derogatory name (use your imagination here, people) in a very public setting like Facebook, it doesn’t make people see your point. Instead, it appears that you’re stirring up some trouble or immature.
The same thing happens when you post about being heartbroken. Whenever I see someone writing a status online about how heartbroken they are, I can’t give an ounce of sympathy to them. Why? Because they are using Facebook — a public forum — to talk about private feelings. And chance are, probably looking for the person who broke their heart to change their mind.
Here’s my theory: if you need to vent, text a friend. If you have the urge to write a long status about things that are upsetting you, instead of getting out your phone, get out a pen and paper and journal.
However, with that being said, I see a lot of great people use social media on a daily basis in awesome ways. I use it to promote my blog posts and articles. My friend’s dad — who is a pastor — uses it as a diary to tell the story of his day-to-day activities. One of my friends uses Instagram to show off her amazing photographs Another friend of mine posts about what he’s doing in his radio career on a daily basis. And, my co-workers use social media everyday to tell the world what they are doing. And that is awesome. That is how social media should be used.
I think that if you are using social media to talk about positive and meaningful things, versus starting drama, then you are doing it right. So, this is why you’ll see my only dog on my Instagram.
Oh, and are we following each other on Instagram? No? You should totally follow me.
thenutmegmillennial.com 