#idk

I asked myself: what to write?

Idk

Why write?

Idk

Did I ask myself any more questions?

Idk

 

The above section of questions is as annoying to you as it is to me. With chat platforms gaining the upper hand over phone calls, every other question has this answer: idk. It’s just yesterday that I was chatting with my classmate, Samiksha and we had a rather enlightening conversation. We talked about how social media is separating us from core reality. Interestingly, I did it all while I was scrolling through Instagram. In course of the conversation, we came up with a great acronym for social media which I would like to share with you.

Specialization in Madness

Omnipresent      Eutopia

Creative               Disintegration

Inoculation for    Illiteracy

Acronym for        Agony

Let humanity retain its sanity.

 

-Amen

It’s true that even though I speak of the vices of social media, I’m prey to the same. Social media is not a degenerative disease so, there’s no need to stay aloof from it. A slight variation in attitude makes all the difference. For example, some of us will follow meme pages while others will be more interested in educational pages. Some of us will follow actors and celebs while others would rather follow ISRO or similar organizations. There’s a section of people (especially our parents) who will march into our rooms to say,

“Spend all day with your phones now! Your uncle didn’t become an IAS officer by gluing eyes to his phone.”

They’re partially right because we’re experts in switching between tabs and show them that we’re studying. Social media has made the world very small and we have started taking relationships for granted. I’m not just talking about romantic relationships but also friendships, family, and other people we meet. We don’t have to wait for days to receive letters from relatives or wait for the evening to talk to our friends. We don’t have the birthdays or anniversaries of our close ones listed in the back pages of our diary. We have begun to forget what once used to be cherished memories. We have lost track of reality and the sense of society which in turn makes us feel lonely and depressed.

It’s so difficult to describe depression to someone who’s never been there because it’s not sadness. I know sadness. Sadness is to cry and to feel. But it’s that cold absence of feeling—that really hollowed-out feeling.

                                                -J.K. Rowling

This quote hit me quite hard and reminds me of how lonely we are despite all the luxuries we have. We should try to be more rooted in the real world and make friends in here rather than on social media platforms. Just posting ‘Happy Birthday’ on someone’s timeline is not enough. We need to reach out to them and show them that we actually care. Only when we act in this way can we expect to be treated the same. This might help to keep our mental peace but Idk.

The key to happiness is the reduction of desires.

                                                                        -Bhagavad Gita

Social media can connect us to the remotest corner of the world at the press of a button. Exposure to the world has its pros and cons. It provides access to a wide range of information which can be harmful in some cases. The above citing from Bhagavad Gita perfectly fits into the situation. While using social media, we come across the lavish lifestyles of celebs and other people. We can see many people living the ‘dream life’ although, in reality, it’s just for show. Developing an ambition to lead such lives is good but when it becomes a mere desire, we begin to feel low. It feels as if we’re missing out on a large part of life just because we don’t have one small thing. Also, there is a trend being observed among us youngsters. We compete to reach the maximum followers on Instagram by posting stuff about cosmetics, memes, etc. but we don’t even realize that it’s all for nothing. Some people might hate me and say that I don’t understand anything but Idk.

There are times when I’m so depressed that I set aside my phone for days. All that time, I hope that someone will call me or text me to know if I’m okay. It doesn’t happen. The only people who ask about my well-being are my parents. The importance we get on social media is fake and we needn’t blame anyone for that. The people at the other end are also in the same dilemma as us. I would like to share this quote with you.

When it comes to social media, there are just times I turn off the world, you know. There are just some times you have to give yourself space to be quiet, which means you've got to set those phones down.

                                                                                    -Michelle Obama

It’s neither possible nor recommended to shut ourselves off from social media forever. So, I’ve thought of some ways to moderate how social media affects us. I have limited the time I spend on social media every day. I always try to convince myself that everything that I see on social media is not true. I’m trying to reach out more to friends though the results have not been as ideal as I thought it would be. I must learn how to live with myself and not expect anything from anyone. That way I can’t be disappointed. Will this strategy work?

Idk.