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The other day I was doing my usual noon scroll through Pinterest and found this quote by the totally anonymous, f*king badass British street artist Banksy. If you have never heard of him I highly suggest checking out this article about him. I'm actually surprised that I like his works because typically my conservative nature favors Renaissance and La Belle Epoque artists. But I am slowly warming up to modern art and street art as well ... slowly.
Normally when I see quotes on Pinterest, I kind of gloss over them and arbitrarily pin them to my quote board to maybe look at them again one day. I don't know if it was the super bold font or the word "Banksy" that made me read this quote but I am glad I did because it connected to something that I have been working on for quite some time - my social media presence. I have probably mentioned here somewhere before that I would label myself as an extraverted introvert. When I am with people I immediately connect to their energy and engage in the present moment, and I do need my alone time to recharge my batteries and get ready for the next social outing. In my alone time; however, is when I do anything on social media be it snoop around, post or whatever. This quote got me thinking a lot about my actions recently on social media and how they have changed significantly since I made my very first Instagram post way back in 2012. While I am typically an inward looking person, I defiantly can thank the internet for helping me to create connections and be a part of the world and it has given me some qualities that I definitely did not have in 2012.
Here are a few notes about social media that I have had floating around in my cranium:
I post on social media for myself // Honestly, I don't give a sh*t about how many time a day that I post on Instagram. So many people that I know are picky about this and this completely baffles me. If I like a picture (or 5!!) that I have taken, I will post it. What I curate on social media is like a personal art gallery that x amount of people just so happen to be following. I love going back and looking at old photos and let the memories that are attached to those photos come flooding back ... yes, I cringe about old photos and old captions because they reflect someone who I once was and the past is in the past. I think that posting for myself on any social media is important because it cuts the crap and lets me be my authentic self because who cares if someone thinks that I am annoying, self absorbed, showing off, etc.? It is my social media and my journey and of course there is that little button to can press where they don't have to see my content anymore and that is okay with me ... I will definitely still be friends with you in real life!!
While my social media is me, I am not my social media // Wait what? Everything that I post on the internet is real, authentic me ... or I try my hardest to make it as if though I was having a conversation with someone in real life. In real life I am a two extremes: a deep talker and a reflective thinker or totally sarcastic and random and maybe a little awkward (did I just say that?). I try to impersonate that in my captions on Instagram and my stories on snapchat and even here on the blog. But I am not comprised of my social media outlets alone. Sure, I'd love to talk with you about how I edit my Instagram photos, cool yoga people or my favorite fashion and travel blogger accounts I follow or omg if he likes my Instagram pic and comments a watermelon emoji does he like me?????, but there is so much more to cover than social media. That differentiation took a while for me to make and when I did it was like huge. Just like separating work/school from your personal life, social media should be a branch of your existence not your entire existence. I do do other things than post pictures on Instagram or make fun of myself on snapchat, as shocking as that may seem. Because social media and social networking are such huge parts of our lives today we forget to talk in real time about the tangible things - what we ate for breakfast, what movie we recently saw or what our future plans are. Update: we don't need to broadcast this on social media every second of the day and plus it is way more special shared via real time.
If we take a picture and I don't post it on social media do I really love you?? // Of course!! Absolutely!! Yes!! This is one of the most confusing things that I hear: "She didn't post our picture we took, she must hate me." You can either look at this two ways. I didn't post the picture anywhere because I hate you and I never want anyone to see that I was ever with you, which seems extreme now that I am writing it out right? More than likely I didn't post the picture on social media because I just didn't want to. The internet does not have to know that we got together and took a picture. The world will not stop rotating for hot second to say "wow! look! kira and x have a picture together! friendship!" Pictures on the Internet 100% do not validate a friendship. The Instagram/Facebook official is totally over rated. Why not become life official? Why not tell the person that you have a picture with how grateful that you have them in your life. Instead of posting it to a Facebook wall, print it out and tape it on your bedroom wall. Only you will see it. But that is the power. Only you have access to this snap in time. Doesn't that make this moment seem like a treasure? And who would want to give away such a treasure?
* Side note, a picture posted with someone is really special too ... I always think of it as a way of showing my inner gratitude towards the world. Like, wow, look at this special person I am screaming on the top of a mountain that I am thankful for you and I don't care if anyone hears me or not.
Invisibility from the world is actually quite liberating as I have found through these three notes on my social media philosophy. If anything this hopefully should serve as a reminder to myself (and maybe you too!!) that the most precious moments in life happen off screen. Its way better to store a memory in your heart than in a little square :)
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