If I stop posting on social media, will you forget about me?
…And our friendship, based on newsfeeds instead on memories?
- I first got a Facebook account to talk to friends who were “over” Myspace.
- then, I was going on Facebook to see what other people were doing,
- then, I posted on Facebook tell other people what I’m doing.
- recently, I needed Facebook just to validate what I’m doing.
It saddens me that increasingly more people prioritize “socializing” whenever they do something cool- as if their own memories are not enough to make an experience real. Perhaps this moment won’t “count” if other people don’t know about it. Sometimes I too feel this: if I don’t frequently share pretty pictures or witty statuses, the world will move on and forget I exist. What’s even worse is, sometimes if I don’t get enough “likes”, the experience itself may not be remembered as something memorable.
More than depending on social media for personal validation, I’m scared that some of my friends are using only social media to keep track of friends, and becoming dependent on newsfeed to provide them “important” updates. I’ll refrain from getting into the whole ‘false sense of relationship’ point here, but I just wanted to ask a simple question: how often do you think about people who don’t appear in your newsfeed?
If I stop posting, will half the world forget about me?
More importantly, will you forget about me?
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I think, I’m returning to emailing my friends who live far away. Not only is it the difference between feeling noted versus being cared for, direct & personal communication is the only way I keep my friendships real.
So to my friends: I don’t ever want to feel like I’m being a better friend than what I actually am by merely keeping track of your Instagram photos. Don’t be insulted if I stop “liking” your shares, because there might be an email sent soon.
jenny-tangled 