Edited by: Nidhi Munot
The world of social media is intimidating for sure. The current landscape is such that maintaining an online presence requires active effort. As a result, a lot of one’s self-worth is ascertained by their social media presence, sometimes so much so that it accentuates their overthinking to the point of exhaustion. Based on the braincells required to operate on these, here are some characteristics of your most loved social media platforms.
Instagram:
The gram that defines kilos of your self-worth (sorry, just had to make that joke). It starts off easy, you find your friends, you send them a follow request, you follow the pages you really like, you find funny meme pages, you get into chat groups with your friends.Then, gradually, it becomes a number game. Maybe you’ll occasionally look at the number of followers you have. And maybe that one person who used to follow you has apparently unfollowed you now while you still follow them. Cut to the downward spiral.
- You send someone a very thoughtful/wholesome meme or a message and they leave you on “seen.” Where is this social media drama going?
- Then comes your birthday. The expectation of birthday stories follow suit.. Must be cute stories, right?
- Also, probably the most daunting part of the Gram is posting photos: each picture you take must be high quality, even if one uses filters, they must “accentuate” each part of the picture. Only the most professional-aesthetic-perfectly balanced pictures with the best backgrounds and the best poses make the cut. In fact, there are actual guides being uploaded on multiple platforms to capture the “best” Instagram picture. Serious perspiration-inducing business right there.
- Even the stories, a part of your social media presence that stays for just 24-hours, must have absolutely no grammatical errors, always the best collages, the correct font style and color. Almost always,, it is accompanied by a perpetual check-up of “who viewed your story.”
The pressure to have every post up to the mark, matching the aesthetic of your account while also reflecting who you are as a person can be a lot. Let it go. Allow yourself to make mistakes. Writing “Happy Birtday” instead of “Happy Birthday” is okay besties.
LinkedIn:
A platform that makes everything seem a little too real. Here we go again! Someone started an internship/job/certification at one of the most prestigious corporations in the whole wide world. Our immediate reaction is usually to think “good for them”, but this is typically immediately accompanied by “but what am I doing with my life?”
- Checking out someone’s profile only to find 500+ connections, thousands of followers, and a million work experiences and certifications can be intimidating. Then you try to post something and again, the pressure of having the most immaculate language and correct grammar, coupled with the anticipation of the perfect response, hits you right in the face. We’ve all been there.
- The real purpose, finding a job, making dedicated job applications, having the best persona set up, making the best first impression, is daunting, but let that not budge you. Just give it a shot.
WhatsApp:
The most personal interjection into one’s life. A place filled with controversial family group messages, words that should never reach your parents’ eyes, proof of your sibling trying to sneak into the room at 3am.
- Okay so, it starts with some kind of political drama. You can’t forget the good morning, sometimes “Dhaarmik” messages, to get you into Monday Motivation feels.
- Then, you join Ashoka and every second day, you get a group invite. And, you must mark my words, you shall have over 1000 unread messages by the time you are midway through the semester. And you shall mark all of them read at one go.
- Ashokans are not only good at writing emo-emails to Professors but also at making useless Ashokan stickers.
- Your brother’s best friend’s cousin will text you asking: “Hey! I just needed some guidance to get into Ashoka.” And you’d feel instantly superior and yet increasingly averse to replying to that message.