Navigating the social media age

I loved the internet and computers growing up as a kid. I played video games online, built websites for fun, and was wowed by what I could accomplish over adults being literate in computers.

Then came the social media age which turned the internet into one giant popularity contest. I wasn’t a fan, but I needed friends in high school so I participated reluctantly. I was a freshman in high school when MySpace was a thing. It wasn’t a necessarily fun time as we spent more time angry at each other over Top 8’s rather than actually getting to know each other.

Eventually, MySpace turned into Facebook and it became yet another popularity contest albeit a much tamer one. It wasn’t great for my self-esteem at a very vital time in my life. And I was admittedly probably someone who contributed to those self-esteem issues for others as well.

I think growing up in that original era of social media was one of the big reasons why I don’t love social media overall. It made me a bit different as a person, in a not so great way. Sure social media has it’s positives - it’s entertaining for sure and helps me keep in touch with friends and family.

I turned out fine (sort of), but I know social media has impacted a lot of people’s lives in net negative ways.

Today, I have a presence but not a very active one. I have an Instagram I use for personal and mainly to keep in touch with friends. I have a Facebook that I never log into except to use Facebook marketplace. I have a Twitter which I used to use a lot more for work, but that has died significantly since Elon took over.

I’m not sure what Sophia and my strategy for our kids with social media will be. It’s something I think about a lot admittedly. I don’t want my children to feel left out of the digital age, but at the same time, I know how toxic social media can be for a developing human.