Socien's Blog

In December 2013, I ventured into the world of social media by setting up my first Facebook profile. Around the same time, I also explored other platforms like “Frim,” but as Facebook gained prominence, my attention shifted there. Having just celebrated my 18th birthday, I found myself forming connections with friends from different corners of the globe, engaging in lengthy conversations that stretched into the night. Despite the hours spent, the depth of these interactions didn’t seem to match their duration. It felt akin to a fleeting chat with a fellow traveler from a distant land aboard a flight—except, on social media, you never get to meet these individuals face-to-face. This virtual engagement led me to inadvertently drift away from my local friends, as I became more engrossed with those who were physically out of reach.

On social media, individuals often present an idealised version of themselves, showcasing their finest moments and concealing any distress. I had no intention of emulating this facade. For me, there was a certain sense of pride in conversing with an attractive girl, even though we never met in person. By 2015, the digital tools at my disposal could have served as a virtual library, especially since my local area lacked such a facility within a 100 km radius. However, my focus on social media meant that I overlooked the potential of these tools for self-education and entrepreneurial ventures during my youth.

I felt a change was necessary, so in 2016, I let go of all my connections on social media. This retreat was also aided by the decline and demise of some social media platforms like Viber I had started with. By 2019, I had completely deactivated my account. That same year, I eliminated all my social media profiles, with Twitter being the sole exception. For the following two years, I relished the peace of a life without social media. During the first seven months of this period, I was completely disconnected, owning neither a phone nor a laptop. When I rejoined social media in 2021, it was with a clear intention. I required platforms for advertising. Moreover, Facebook had introduced “Marketplace,” offering a convenient way to browse items for sale within my country.

Currently, my Facebook friend count stands at 47, and it doesn’t seem to be increasing. I’m planning to switch my account settings to “follow only” to prevent any new friend requests. While I’ve never experimented with TikTok, I’m currently gathering all the portrait vlogging equipment within my budget. I plan to craft short videos featuring standout excerpts from this motivational blog and share them on TikTok. I’m optimistic that this strategy will attract more visitors to my blog. The launch on TikTok is scheduled for three months from now, which means I need to focus on producing the videos and plan for a bulk upload when the time comes.

My greatest concern is the pervasive ‘social mediasation’ of all online platforms. Content creators, who previously enjoyed a degree of separation from the typical user experience on social media, are now fully immersed in it. For instance, a Facebook Page used to be a tranquil haven for content creators. However, it’s now overrun with twice as many reels compared to a regular Facebook profile. Similarly, YouTube has become saturated with Shorts, which remain inescapable, even for Premium subscribers. This is because all the platforms are now saturated with content, and it is no longer what Facebook, YouTube and other social media giants want. Garbage like “let me tell you something challenge” is now attracting eyeballs, and anyone owning a smartphone is now capable of creating such garbage. In some questions and platform hybrid social networks like Quora, AI have stepped up to do what humans used to do.

As someone who has stepped back from social media, I’m not opposed to the thought of hiring an individual down the line to handle the social media tasks and navigate the overwhelming flood of Reels for me. I’ve noticed a gradual shift in my role from being a social media participant to a creator. Yet, I haven’t found any aspect of social media to be beneficial. In my view, it’s an innovation that seems futile, as it appears to inflict more damage on society than it resolves.

I’m not fond of the notion of finding love via social media as it eliminates the magic of first encounters. There’s something special about the traditional way of meeting someone, like a woman complimenting my eating habits in the Great Hall, and then bumping into her again on the bus ride home, where a simple act like helping free her hair caught in the door can spark a conversation. Despite my preference for these serendipitous moments, I acknowledge that one of my relationships did originate from social media connections.