Private Turned Public

We often take privacy for granted, not putting much thought into what may be online about us. However, just a simple Google search can unveil loads of information about you, your life, and your history. Many sites such as BeenVerified and ClustrMaps collect every public record that even mentions your name, and presents it all to you at the click of a button. 

I don't think that I have a very large online footprint, since I only have two social media accounts, plus an email. I have never had a FaceBook page or a Twitter account, so while I definitely am shocked at the scandals that have come out about the platform I can't relate to them personally. I have always been very against FaceBook, and did not see the point in it. 

I have been this way with all of my social medias, only creating a Snapchat account to talk with friends, as well as an Instagram account to help market myself as a model and potentially get noticed or liked by an agency. Especially since social media and "influencers" are a huge topic with today's society, it made the most sense for me to cave in and create an account.

 

I only ever upload pictures of myself usually when I'm at the beach, since that's my favorite place to be, or dancing in both pictures and videos. On Snapchat, I only have a select group of people as friends whom I've met in real life first, to help verify that no information could be used in a poor way against me. 

Social media has lost its appeal to me, and I am not mad about it at all. I am no longer unhealthily obsessed with Instagram and making my account more pleasing to the eye to gain more followers. I don't care about the amount of likes I get or if so-and-so has more followers than me and is prettier. I feel much more confident in myself as a result of this, and have no desire to return to the destructive online world so many people immerse themselves in. 

While online connection is a wonderful tool when used for the wellbeing of people, when used for other purposes it can have different types of negative impact. The article Is FaceBook Making Us Lonely? really helps to show this, outlining and detailing the shallowness and loneliness that can cloud users of social media. By trying to one-up and be better than other people on the platform, individuals can develop a narcissistic personality that carries through not just online, but in real life as well.

This leads to feelings of loneliness, which can cause depression for silly things like not getting enough likes or this person has more followers than me. There are great ways to avoid this however, such as following inspirational people and detoxing your accounts from content that makes you feel horrible about yourself, as well as to stop following people you are more enemies than friends with. 

One person who I love to follow is Gary Vee, since he's very inspirational and acknowledges social media as a self-made tool in a healthy way. His Instagram is here. Another great person to follow is Mike Stud, and his podcast YNK.