Life has become infiltrated by social media. Life IS social media.
Our generation is witnessing before its very eyes the metamorphosis of Descartes’ seemingly timeless maxim, “I think therefore I am” into a more modern concept; “I post therefore I am.” Whether you’re in the ‘developed world’, or the ‘developing’ world like Trinidad, the experience is pretty much the same. In other words, social media has provided all its users with a virtual opportunity to present our self-created version of our lived reality with the world.
As a result, we are bombarded by the silent probes of social media to prove our existence. If we do not post a picture of our Carnival costume, did we really wear it? If we do not share a photo of our Richard’s shark and bake, did we really eat it? And if we do not update our status stating we’re off to Machel Monday, post a selfie and/ or tag the location, did we really go?
“As human beings, we have the dichotomous psychological need to be individuals yet feel connected to and accepted by a much larger social set.” (Qualman, 2012, n.p.)
So, if you were to take the social media purge and unplug yourself for three days, would y
ou cease to exist? I imagine as the final click is made on the ‘LOG OUT’ button, our physical body would begin to dissipate into billions of atoms and seep into the atmosphere…. Or would it? I took the three day challenge and I’m living proof that I did not cease to exist, my life did not shut down… entirely.
Day 1:
I wearily rubbed the sleep from my eyes and mindlessly reached over for my DL700 to engage in my morning ritual; to answer the beckoning of the intriguing blue ‘F’ icon on my home screen. As my finger glided over to the blue portal of my virtual reality, my memory jogged and I hastily retreated. “NO! I shouldn’t!” I reprimanded myself. My finger clearly had a mind of its own and made another desperate yet futile attempt to open instead, the green portal to my virtual reality. I just wanted to know what was up with my boyfriend but I received the conviction that I could easily make a phone call to do so instead. I obeyed and recoiled under the covers, unsure of what to do with my life. My morning ritual (what I only now realized was my morning ritual), had been disturbed and I was unsure of my next course of action. I decided to read a verse on my Daily Bible app instead and hopefully get some divine intervention that would guide my path for the day. It was a struggle but I made it through day 1 successfully. I went to bed and surprisingly I did not slither away into the abyss of nothingness as a result of my virtual absence. What my absence did render however, was what seemed to be additional hours on the clock.
Day 2:
The amount of ‘free time’ I was so graciously gifted in day 1 made me ponder on the amount of time that is sacrificed doing mindless scrolling. Let me clarify however, that I am not an extremist. I know first handedly that social media is not useful only for useless activities but plays a pivotal role in our lives as students and professionals in the world of work and simply just to maintain our relationships. This was the main struggle with day 2. There were several important issues I wanted to clarify with classmates and virtual group meetings that I had to opt out of that caused me unnecessary worry and anxiety. 21st century problems! I had a stressful day to say the least and I could only liken the experience to an addict in a withdrawal phase. I mean after all, it’s not like I could have walked over to campus and ACTUALLY communicated with my classmates face to face and avoid the asynchronous burden of online communication. (I had not yet reached this stage of Enlightenment.) Nevertheless, most importantly, I did not surrender.
Day 3:
I surrendered… but for a good cause! A good enough cause…*shrugs shoulders*
I woke up and gave myself some self-motivation to enable me to make it through the final day. I mean, I was not addicted to social media… I couldn’t be! More than that, this was a course assignment, whether it was being graded or not, I could not fail! I repeated my mantra and set off to seize the day. It happened in a less dramatic way than you may have imagined. I wasn’t sitting in the middle of campus listlessly fading away into a hallucination, or experiencing a sudden feverish cold sweat while passing students began to look like Facebook and Whatsapp symbols. I didn’t drop to my knees dramatically and curse the social media Gods nor my lecturer for issuing the challenge. It was rather simple. As simple as trying to call my boyfriend frantically for an hour with no success. I became concerned, but considered the possibility that he was in an important business meeting and could not attend to any phone calls at the time. Usually, he would simply send me a message on Whatsapp to update me of his whereabouts and his availability. And so, it was in this quiet and private moment that I simply surrendered the challenge and clicked the ominous green icon that would now connect me in some way to my boyfriend that I so desired to communicate with. He messaged me, therefore he was alive. He existed. This knowledge quelled my anxiety and I understood a new perspective of social media proving our existence, in the least superficial way possible.
References:
Newton, P. (2012, August 22). I Facebook, Therefore I Am. Retrieved February 18, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pamela-newton/facebook-identity_b_1818281.html
Osuagwu, N. (2009). Facebook addiction: The life & times of social networking addicts. New York: Ice Cream Melts Pub
Qualman, E. (2009). Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.
Trini Girl With a Blog 