The Negative Speech: The Dangers Of Social Media

"Stop whining. Your life can't be that bad! Look at your Facebook timeline, or yesterday's Instagram post", they say. But I am not my social media timeline – or am I?

It hasn't been long since social media became part of our lives and are now unable to think away. People share their memories and opinions on a daily basis and drown you in happy photographs, eventful moments and the yet another picture of their dinner, titled "#veggiemeal". It feels like more and more people gain their confidence solely by the amount of followers or friends they have online, and this also leads them to share every small, unimportant aspect of their lives. The crux is, do they really share everything or is sharing on social media nothing but a happy facade that

Every day. Any more reasons for us to share that much online? According to an article on Avidian, there are five big reasons: People mainly want to express and realise themselves, keep on track with relationships, have entertainment, and support a cause. This gives away a rather beneficial use of social media. Who doesn't want to stay in touch with old friends, or a family member that lives far away? Who doesn't enjoy some entertainment? Even so, expressing and realising oneself via a social media platform seems to be a somewhat double-edged sword, since the expressed image of 'this is me' is merely self-descriptive – we share want we think we are and what we want to be, but is this also who we really are?

The mask – a selective image

Based on all of these stats, one can easily assume that many people nowadays give away a lot of their lives. Every meal has to be put online, relationships, and break-ups are made public, and every so often one might wonder if anybody out there actually cares. The key point hereby is though, that social media provide us with a form of interaction that requires reactions from our followers and friends online. And obviously most people do not want to seem depressed or boring in front of them, thus the things they share appear to be positive or funny most of the time – which was among other confirmed 2015 by Lin and Utz, who stated, that most Facebook posts are positive and elicit

And don't get this wrong, it doesn't even mean we don't share some of our flaws, but it means that if we actively decide to share something and what it is, because we want to share it – and this is crucial! Perfection does not solely mean a perfect and happy life but a perfect version of ourselves. The scary part hereby is how it influences our daily life. That pretty view you definitely had to share on Instagram. Or that joke you just had to tweet. People are constantly re-creating their lives, an aspect some people are trying to raise awareness about: Bloggers talk more about this topic and some propose that the inaccuracy of the "adventurous social media-life", so to say, might "cause viewers to have low self-esteem, feelings of being left out or that they are not investing enough of themselves […]" In addition one should note the unreachable goals that are provided by the mere exposure to the seemingly perfect lives of friends, acquaintances, or even your favourite celebrity. The perfectionism creates a high, distorted