Personally, when I see someone on my Twitter feed boasting about something that they've done, I initially judge them and ask myself why these people are putting their personal lives on this site. 'Don't brag about things, keep your personal life personal and succeed in silence.' is what I usually start out thinking, but then I calm down from my initial tirade and I realize that it's okay. It's okay to use social media to let people know that you're doing great today and that you kicked ass in a workout or you did awesome on your bio exam. We all have our own personal brand and we build it every single day by the actions that we do and how we interact with people. Social media has made it much easier for people to build their brand, so don't hate on people who are doing better at it than you.
Like I said, I am just as guilty as everyone else for judging people that post about how great that lift they had was or that life is going well for them right now, but we shouldn't. For one, if you have a problem with them posting that, you probably aren't very good friends with them anyway, so why are you following them on social media? Second, let them live their lives how they want to live it. Third, they are using social media correctly. They are building up their profile or their timeline and status so people can stay up to date on them and see how they are doing. I don't care if it's on Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, LinkedIn, or Instagram, self promotion is awesome. People are actually proud of themselves and in today's society, especially with teenagers, anything that is not depressing is a positive to me. If you are happy with yourself, then why not post about it and let the people that you're connected with know. Try not to give minute-to-minute updates on how well your life is, because that can just be flat-out annoying, but a nice update every once in a while is welcomed onto my timeline.
So the next time you see somebody posting a workout that they've been doing, a transformation photo, or a tweet about how they just got an A on the exam they've been worrying about, don't get annoyed and keep scrolling. Give it a like, or a retweet, or even comment on it and congratulate them. There is nothing wrong with them letting the social media world what's going on in their life. And also, if you're afraid to post something that you're proud of, don't be. Live your life the way you want to live it and then post about it on Facebook, because that is the reason that it's for. Use social media for the good, not just videos of cats.
I'm really glad you posted about this because this is something that I always try to keep in the back of my mind as well! Although social media is mainly about connecting with people, it's also a way to let people know what's going on in your life, and if you're really proud about something, who's to say you shouldn't boast about it online? I try to just be happy for everyone who posts things like that on social media, because hey, they're proud of themselves! Great post!
ReplyDeleteI can completely relate. I used to get so upset with everybody that would post every single detail about their lives on Facebook. I would go as far to unfriend them to keep their posts from cluttering up my feed. This class has opened my eyes to a new way of thinking about social media. Instead of seeing it as a way to "brag" about what I've done. Instead, I can create a personal brand that is who I am in social media.
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