In the day and age where social media has become ingrained into our daily lives, I have to ask the question: is this healthy? The answer is both yes and no. It ultimately depends on the person behind the keyboard.

Imagine you are a puppet master and all your friends or followers are attached to your online version of self with strings. These strings can either control them or they can control their own reaction based upon the authenticity of your online persona. Too many people are creating a version of themselves online that is extreme, brash, egotistical, shallow, materialistic, and/or pretentious. And I hate to say it, but it is always creating a mirroring of these qualities based upon the initial influencers influence they have upon others. This is problematic because the more people give into this false sense of self, the more they succumb to attracting other false personas into their real life or perspectives. So before you go out on the social media turf, think about what you want to attract and why. Think about who you are potentially pushing away as well by posting this hard-shelled version of yourself.

And boy, is this kind of antic rewarded heavily with likes, comments, and follows. The rush of dopamine invades the psyche like the nicotine rush of a cigarette. But is it rewarding long term? Does it actually feel fulfilling at the end of the night? Many won’t admit this, but it doesn’t. If anything it hinders the ability to connect with others based upon vulnerabilities, reality, and an honest exchange of perceptions of life. It cuts like a knife through all those who are intelligent enough to see through your facade. And then you look around you, realize you’re surrounded by a bunch of people who are actually afraid to speak their truth, lack healthy self confidence, and haven’t developed the ability to get validation through themselves. When you think about it, most of these traits come from a sort of narcissism. This narcissism is not going to be appealing to those who are authentically being themselves, introspecting, and have healthy self-esteem. Eventually, they will find more appealing influences to admire. So to those who say social media isn’t real life, I beg to differ. If it didn’t have an effect on real life, then people wouldn’t be so invested in it, we wouldn’t see a lot of people on their phones. It is ultimately up to you to create a healthy and authentic version of yourself online so choose wisely.