Yesterday I caught myself blaming social media for the self-centeredness running rampant in society today. I think my Dad asked me a question about it and I decided to tell him Instagram was to blame.
Then I realized I was wrong.
Instagram is not to blame for the narcissism we see on a day-to-day basis--and trust me, it's narcissism! What else do you want to call it? There are some people I follow who literally post the exact same picture taken the exact same way every single day.
I mean, I think some of it has to do with insecurity, and they're trying to feel better about themselves by gaining likes and what not. But still, you're only focusing on yourself in that situation and nobody else.
Here's why I don't blame social media.
I think social media is really acting like a metal detector in this situation. Self-centeredness was there the whole time, but now that these tools surround us they only lend to exposing it more. It used to be you only got a feel for someone when you met them, but now I can figure out everything I need to know about someone from following them on Instagram or Facebook.
I also think it's time to stop blaming social media for all of our problems, too. Even I was doing this before--heck, I did it yesterday--and I realize now it's really a foolish argument.
Social media platforms in and of themselves aren't inherently bad. They're simply tools. Have they lended to us turning on one another in the comments section? NO.
You know who did that? We did!
We're the ones sitting behind a computer screen attacking other human beings with families and loved ones because they disagree with us.
Blaming social media is, like we humans love to do, passing the blame for our behavior to something outside of ourselves. I like to do this too, I want to make that clear. We all do--nobody is innocent.
I think that social media and members of the younger generations tend to get grouped together like it's our problem. It's our fault.
As a proud member of the millennial generation, I don't believe we're the ones to blame for any problems seemingly rising from social media. We all are.
So let's keep that in mind next time we feel inclined to point the finger at social media, shall we? It's a tool for incredible good as it is for evil, but make no mistake, we're the ones in control.
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