Social media is bullshit. There…I said it!

I’m a millennial…working in the entertainment industry…who fervently values community and conversation. Calling social media “bullshit” should be so counterculture that I evaluate my own wellbeing. And yet, here I sit typing these words, unapologetically, staunchly, cathartically, and assuredly. Yes indeed, it is bullshit.

When social media first entered our lives, it was a tool created to connect and reconnect people, it had honest, positive intentions. Today, it has been monetized and perverted into a relationship, confidence, and emotion destroying juggernaut. The social aspect? Scarce.

The content I personally share hasn’t even been visible due to an insidious algorithm that prioritizes ads and half-nude photos. Believe me, I don’t have many followers – just shy of 1k, which puts me just shy of a nanoinfluencer (think micro micro influencer…as if I ever wanted to be one), but to the 990+ people who’ve decided I get to take a few minutes of their day as I share glimpses of mine, my posts are buried. And sadly the same is true in the reverse. I can’t interact and engage with the people and pages I’d actually like to. The very apps designed to connect us and cross-share information are blocking the information we share because we don’t share enough. Are you beginning to understand the bullshittery?

I’m not bitter, though. While it’s cool to have fans and followers and all the illustrious perks that come in tandem with drones of them, I’ve never desired to be famous or idolized. Imagine if you announced that you’d been “followed” in literally any other context beyond social media. It’s not exactly something that you’d find favorable. My goal for social media (apart from enjoying the memes) has always been to make myself available; to build an online presence in a digital world and be reached easily. Thanks to influencers (a very generous use of that word), the “goal” is now about remaining socially relevant. Followers now represent dollars instead of relationships, so if you don’t have enough of them, brands previously interested in you will throw you away like Andy’s old toys.

Truth be told, if a single person never saw anything I posted again, I’d be ok. I have a satisfying career that social media hasn’t necessarily built for me and a solid social circle. My biggest concern is about what social media is doing to our culture, the future of relationship building, and healthy conversation. Social media encourages inauthenticity. After all, how can you be chatty when any ones’ attention span can’t exceed 280 characters? I recently read an article about people renting studios modeled as private jets. Yup! For a nominal price per hour, “board” this fraudulent jet and take as many fabulous photos as you’d like. Social media perpetuates this idea of perfection at the cost of realness. And if that stunt doesn’t land you enough love? Buy followers. It’s all so contrived.

Why do we go out of our way to convince strangers that life is perfect? We all experience a gravely imperfect world daily and then retreat to a fantasy land that we somehow accept as reality. We dupe ourselves into believing that we’re inferior simply because we live a genuine experience filled with less-than-perfect conditions. More shockingly, we get surprised to discover that people, young girls in particular, are constantly dejected because of the sinister game of comparison they play each day. The web should be a safe place (terms and conditions apply), and it has turned into a minefield. It’s a sad day when you rely on the real world to escape from social media.

Thankfully, a good friend of mine has lifted the veil of fallacy. She works in TV makeup and has met countless celebrities from TV shows, music videos, movies, and star-studded events. And yes, that probably includes the star you’re thinking about. If there’s anyone who knows what they’re like and what they look like, it’s her! We had a chat a few weeks back where she disclosed how fake the entire social media façade is. Anyone who dare stick a pin in its fragile veneer would pop it instantly. From filters to fake planes, you can’t trust what you see. Don’t drive yourself insane trying to keep up with these aspirational figures. You’re phenomenal, followers or not.

Social media isn’t all bad! I’ve had multiple accounts for years. I just think we’ve been moving the needle in a frustrating direction that denies the very ideals social media was founded on. My goal for anyone reading this is to take a little less time feeding the insatiable social media fuel and dedicate that time to an authentic relationship with someone they genuinely care about. That’s my advice. Follow that!