2005 was a big year for us all. Why? Well, that is the year that social media started to surround people, letting them enter into a whole new world. Little did we know that that world could penetrate the lives of millions of people around the globe. Allowing people to be creative, but also crippling the minds of so many, taking away the ability to be naïve and unique. In 1997 Netflix was released and although it may not have been the first streaming service… it made its mark. This revolutionized how people consumed TV and movies. It allowed people to watch however much they wanted when they wanted, instead of waiting a week to watch their one episode. I am a huge consumer of most streaming services and I spend a great deal of my time on social media platforms, more than I honestly would like to admit.
My Escape
Alright, confession time. I have mentioned this before, but let me break it down. A lot of people have their “escape” from reality, whether that be doing something a little out there like over/undereating, using substances, or even inflicting pain. Or something a little more low-key like, dancing, shopping, hiding, playing video games, or writing. Mine, as I am sure there are others, is escaping into a TV show or movie, even scrolling through Instagram and Facebook. There is something about shutting the real world off and entering into a world created to capture people's attention and lure them in. It works, let me tell you. When I feel sad, alone, or anxious, I shut off my reality and want to feel calm and relaxed. Although I have no control over the outcome of a show or video, the writers know what people want to see and cater their performances toward those. I can step in and feel a release even though I know as soon as I shut it off it will cause my world to be covered in a slightly darker film because it is not a perfect little world where almost everyone lives a perfectly well-written life. This has been my escape for as long as I can remember. Even watching something as simple as a baking show allows my brain to turn off and take a break from constantly overthinking and allows me time to not face any of my problems for a short time. And now that Instagram and all the other forms of social media are so heavily integrated into our lives, it holds the power of sucking us in and leaving us feeling unsatisfied without knowing the cause.
Social Media
I have said this over and over again, social media creates a false reality in our minds. It’s fun, I use it all the time (part of my problem). However, when we start to feel the weight of something and need to take a break from it, we should evaluate why we are using it. Seeing people's highlights, seeing thousands of people's opinions, fashion, eating habits, personalities, and feeling like we have relationships with these people who put up false faces affects how we interact with our own lives. I remember when I was a kid, unaffected by the world around me, I was able to be unconcerned with what others opinions of me were, my self-confidence was flourishing and growing, I didn’t care what others thought of me, I wore what I liked, and lived to the beat of my own drum. Yes, some of those things inevitably shift and change as one becomes older, but the way that social media has infused the minds of young people and changed the way they view themselves is quite honestly, to be blunt, sad. To come clean, I have become wrapped around the finger of seeing people who know what their calling is and accomplishing goals that have looked entertaining to me and causing me to feel less than I am. I don’t believe we were intended to experience so much of the world and others through a screen. Now, I don’t want to come across as a hater who has an Instagram. It can be fun and a great asset. I try to look at it as a fun place to share my experiences with others who are going through similar life events, as well as a personal magazine or billboard for others. A place to promote businesses or hobbies.
Can’t Escape
I explain all that in a very long-winded manner to express a hard truth that I am currently experiencing. Although we try to find an escape from our emotions, we will always have to face them at some point. No quick fix will solve an issue that we are dealing with. Quick fixes are like band-aids; they won’t conclude a problem, but numb us to then need to cover it up again a short while later in a constant recurring crazy cycle. I am coming to terms with my quick fix, my numbing the world out by diving into false realities that are not my own. Let me be vulnerable with you. I was crying and asking God for a way out of a hole I feel stuck in. He heard my desperation because later that night I was talking to my sister and she told me that she felt like I needed to give up my escape. Wow, let me tell you, I felt convicted! I don’t know how long I will be giving my escape to God, but I can tell you that it is going to be hard! I am finally owning up to the emotions I feel when I am trying to process things, when a hard decision comes at me, when my mind starts going off a million miles per second, or when I tell myself I am alone. I watched a story on Instagram recently and knew this was an issue I needed to face when she began talking about her personal life and had a whole paragraph on these escapes I rely so heavily on and how they are more harmful than good. She was right. How are they helping us? They can’t. They won’t solve our problems. It is the same as putting our dish in the sink and walking away. It was a fix, it’s no longer in our hand, we can’t see it, but is it clean? No. We will have to come back later and deal with the dish that we put off and typically it would no longer be just one dish, but a whole sink full that we need to own up to.
Heavy
This is a heavy thing to think about and own up to. Tears will be shed, believe me. But, I know that in the long run, we will be better for it. Depression, anxiety, and even our everyday emotions can be a lot to handle, but we need to figure a way to own up to them then and there and work through them without setting them aside hoping that they go away because let me tell you, they typically won’t. I want to, like normal, explain myself a little because things can become blurry in translation. To find a hobby to help ourselves cope and work through our feelings is different than using it as a way to numb ourselves to the emotion. I would watch TV, YouTube, and scroll on Instagram as a way to ignore the way I felt and make myself forget while feeling free as if I were the one in the show. However, I work out when I need to make myself feel better and relax my brain while still working through my emotions. One is a short-term coverup while the second is a long-term solution. And because giving up that escape can be and is a hard decision, I recommend seeing a counselor or someone to help us not have to deal with the weight alone.
A little long and deep, but trying to keep it real, raw, and personal. Life is not all glamorous and the more fake worlds begin to rule our days the more that we need to be honest with ourselves and own up to how we are feeling before we become consumed. Thanks for not giving up on this one, I know that reading long posts can be tedious. If this is something that you are struggling with too feel free to leave me a comment, I would love to talk more about this. As always, please share with someone and follow along @theallie.way on Instagram where I’ll update you on when new posts are up, or subscribe to be the first to know! Thanks for reading, Allie-Cats!
Dru Allie
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