09/11/2022
Hey there!
I’m Kelly, owner of Authenticity Out Loud and a fan of honest social media.
We see more and more each day, the negative side effects social media has on our society, especially teens and preteens.
What a bummer for such a powerful tool to cause harm.
How did we turn something that had the power to connect people and share untold stories into something that merely distracted people with unrealistic views and peer pressure?
And why?
Surely we didn’t mean to?
Perhaps we all want to be better, to be more, and social media made that easy to fake. And that felt good. So it continued.
I don’t want to feel good about what I can fake though. And I think others are realizing they don’t either. It doesn’t last which leads to comparison and often to depression.
Social media itself is not the culprit. The culprit is the way in which some have chosen to use social media.
It’s the instant gratification syndrome.
I could work out and get fit over a period of time putting in hard work and practicing discipline in the kitchen….
Or I could photoshop a hot me real quick, post it and get the juicy reward of dopamine in under ten minutes.
I get it, I’m impatient too.
But, is it worth it?
When that dopamine wears off and you look in the mirror and realize you celebrated something false, what now?
Keep up the falsehood to refill the dopamine tank?
Ah so, there is the cycle or some version I suspect we as a society have accidentally fallen into.
There is a newer social platform “BeReal” that focuses on, well, being real. Users get a daily notification from the app letting them know it's time to post. The user then has 2 minutes to post their BeReal for the day. T
I have to say the fact that “BeReal” is the platform of choice for Gen Z gives me great hope we are realizing our mistakes and correcting them.
I’m so proud of you GEN Z!!! 🥳🙌 Big moves.
So, my elder, millennial ass will do my part and remain as authentic as I can on social media.
Given I run accounts for others, I typically stay back, seldom posting and certainly nothing of this length with only my photo.
But, time for change right?
Cheers to authenticity & taking up space 🥂
(Photo credit to my main squeeze, Rob Inman 💙 who always supports my authenticity no matter how loud it gets.)
