Anti-Social Vs Social Media (The gift and the curse)
Ryan Kasa May 18, 2024
Is social media good for the individual and humanity as a whole?
I hear so much casual talk these days about how social media is to blame for so many things like depression, low self-esteem and things of that nature.
People are so quick to say how bad social media is and I’m here to tell you that I agree.
But not completely.
I think social media is a great tool for so many reasons.
So basically we’re stuck with the analogy of the double edged sword.
The internet itself and social media specifically, being a tool.. a tool that can divide people and also bring people together.
You can meet people with similar interests and make and build relationships.
Romantic relationships, business relationships, hobbies and anything really.
You can also keep in contact with friends and family that live in distant places.
Personally, I’ve done all of the above.
In 2024 social media has permeated so many facets of all of our lives.
Again, this is a good thing as well as bad.
To write this newsletter I’ve done some research and have come across-ed some interesting information.
As of April 2023, there are 4.8 billion social network users globally, which is 59.9% of the worlds population.
According to the research that i came across, studies find that social media use increases self-esteem and positive self view. while others find that social media use is linked to lower well-being. and others that find the use of social media were low no effect on well-being.
To make sense of these findings researchers suggest that the way people use these platforms have an effect on their well-being.
It seems that active vs passive users have a more positive effect on well being while passive users who only consume content were negatively effected by social media.
Much of it comes down to self expression on these platforms.
To further breakdown the research it seems that the way we express ourselves on social media has a profound effect on our well being. the two ways are distinguished into “authentic” and “self idealizing”.
Self-idealizing being a manner in which we portray a more grandiose life than we actually live.
The self-idealizing express-or seems to be the one that is less authentic to her true lifestyle.
The authentic self-express-or has a different experience with social media. the authentic self- express-or seems to benefit from the use of social media psychologically.
The intent of the user plays a role in the users experience.
To take the psychology of the user offline can show us where the root of it all is.
The social media experience is as complex and unique as each and every one of the users online and offline.
Social media is can be an amplifier of certain aspects of the human psyche because it is a means of self expression but just like everything in life you have to be super intentional and self aware of how you use it and fit into the ecosystem.
Some are more casual and passive while others a more intentional and active.
In the earl days of social media when i was on MySpace i thought it was great because i was able to express myself on my page by making it my own with the colors, layout, entry music and all sorts of things like that.
MySpace phased out and Facebook became more popular although i didn’t understand why and was reluctant to switch over.
It was boring and bland to me.
Then Instagram came out and i liked it better than Facebook but still didn’t understand how to express myself on there as much.
It was safe to say i was more of a passive user and because of that i demonized it as being a bane of society.
I thought it was bullshit and a waste of time.
It was essentially people being braggadocios or artsier than thou. at least that’s how i saw it.
But then I started getting into the work of Seth Godin and realized it was a great tool and by that time there were people that figured out very creative ways to express themselves authentically with the platform.
At that point I decided to learn social media and became an active user.
Gary Vee also had a huge role in that decision for me because he was advocating documenting and posting about your life and the things that you’re into.
I was doing cool shit but nobody really knew.
When people asked what i was up to i just responded with” eh you know.. same shit.” but when i started posting my activities things started changing.
People would take notice of what i was posting and would tell me that they saw me do such and such on my social media platform.
I’ve heard it been said that social media is like your resume to the world and it really is. literally that’s how employers are hiring people these days.
And that’s how the opposite sex is evaluating your value as a potential romantic partner.
Social media has become a huge integration into our “real lives”. It has woven the online and offline lives we live into one.
There is much separation these days.
Like i said before this could be good and bad and it comes down to our intentions of the use of it.
I think it’s our responsibility (our ability to respond) to this powerful tool that has become a huge part of our everyday lives.
It’s not going any where. It’s here to stay. For good. (pun intended)
People are starting to realize it and I can’t over-iterate that intentions are the crucial key to our personal experience with it online and offline.
We’re still in the infancy stages of social media in my opinion because we haven’t realized the great tool it can be. Even as a more passive user just consuming content to be completely intentional with how you curate the people follow can have a huge impact on your life.
I used to follow dumb frivolous pages full of entertainment and bullshit but when I realized how I can curate my feed to feed my mind I saw how following the right people could change my life.
I’m here to say that it has and I urge everyone to be more responsible with their social media experiences.
Ideally I hope to see people be more active in expressing themselves and sharing their ideas and views, projects, passions and so on and so forth.
I see it as a means to fight against the degradation of our bodies, minds, spirits and economics. Literally.
The internet itself is like a collection of “The Consciousness of Humanity.”
I use it to help inspire and be inspired for health and fitness.
I use it to help inspire and be inspired for mental toughness and mental acuteness.
I use it to help inspire and be inspired on a spiritual level.
And I also use it to inspire and be inspired on an economic level because the world economy is changing and a huge part of it has to do with the internet and how it’s being utilized.
The Digital Economy is massive.
Digital learning is massive and is going to continue to grow massively.
There’s actually a need for more “Nodes” as I like to call them or synthesizers of information to help disseminate useful and helpful information/ ideas/insights and solutions to help further the evolution of humanity.
Yes, there’s a slew of frivolous bullshit emanating throughout the network of the world wide web but that’s why we need more light bearers illuminating the path toward enlightenment.
It’s easy to slip mindlessly into the degenerative habits of scrolling through the endless bullshit that the internet is full of but it takes responsible people like me and you to be actively working against these forces.
We cant stand aside and watch the world go to hell in a hand basket.
We need warriors online and offline alike.
the internet and social media is where our attention resides much of the time. this is where our priceless consciousness is being consumed.
We will either be used my the internet our we will intentionally use it for the good of ourselves, then our friends, family and community then the world at large.
I choose to use it with the utmost intentions for the betterment of myself and all of mankind.
Join me in this fight!
It’ll be a journey worthwhile here on Earth.