ALWAYS LOOK AT THE POSITIVES

My tidbits last week was all about social media. More specifically, it was about the downsides of social media. The irritations. The pressure. The fact that half of it isn’t even real, because we always control what we post to make our lives seem more exciting and fun than they really are. I was a huge downer on social media last week. But that also is not the full truth. Because I LOVE social media. I mean, I’m on it all the time. I mean this is probably, DEFINITELY, the millennial me in talking but—what was my life before Facebook and Instagram? It was good, because you spent your time outside getting some fresh air, instead of inside on your phone…Be quiet logical Trishna. Anyways, as I was saying, I think social media is great. And the biggest reason is the fact that it allows you to stay in touch with people who you may not see often. My dad is from London and my mom is from India, so all of my close family lives overseas. But it doesn’t feel that way, because we are constantly in contact through social media. Whether its liking each other’s pictures on Instagram, sending each videos through Facebook or just talking to each other the video chat option on Whatsapp…there is no part of our relationship that has been affected by our distance. Then there’s also the fact that, thanks to social media, I have been able to keep up with my cousin’s two-yearold son and, even though I haven’t met either of them yet, I still feel really close to my cousin’s wife and his son. Connected to the above, I think social media is also helpful to combat FOMO (fear of missing out). The best example I can think of is during my cousin’s wedding. A lot of the family managed to make it out for the event, but there were also a lot of people who couldn’t make it. But one of my relatives—the sister of the bride, in fact—had the idea to make these daily vlogs about the wedding events. Each day, she would go around with her phone and just take candid videos of the day’s happenings and then, at the end of the day, combine them all into one video and send them out to our family Whatsapp groups so the people who couldn’t attend the wedding still could see everything going on and felt a part of the events. Then there is the fact that social media is a great way to raise awareness. For example, I would post a lot on about my Instagram about net neutrality and other causes I was passionate about and wanted other people to pay attention to. If something is really important to me, such as that thing happening recently regarding someone saying something about another person who is in line to be appointed to a specific role(I’m being vague on purpose so this doesn’t turn into a whole ‘who’s lying, who’s not’ political argument), I will post about it on one or all of my social medias. But my reach is small and, furthermore, I am very private about my social media. I won’t friend anyone or accept anyone’s follow request unless I know them. So, regardless of what I post, there is only a small number of people who will see it. But that’s okay, because at least some people see it, and then there is the fact that there are some people—such as celebrities and public figures—who can post something and have it reach a wider audience. And it’s not only about raising awareness about things that are happening around the world. Nope, not at all. It’s story time. So I love this band called One Direction. Well, they may have broken up (that hasn’t been made clear). Regardless, I’m a huge fan of them as a band and them as soloists and, as a result, I follow them on Instagram. But not only them, but I also follow their siblings because…well…I want to. So one of the member’s has a sister who has joined this new social website which allows her to send personalized videos to anyone who requests one. And, in all her videos, she’s very friendly and helpful and kind to whoever requests a video. She will give advice, tips, respond to questions, tell funny stories and just find ways to make people feel happy. Furthermore, she’s one of those people who uses her position to raise awareness about different causes. And that is all done through social media. Great, right? And lastly, you all know me by now, I have to talk about the celebrities. Now I try and pretend I’m not one of those people who goes all crazy over famous people. And, for the most part, I’m not. For example, I couldn’t care less that a Bollywood movie—with really well-known Bollywood actors—was taping literally five feet away from me when I went to visit this castle in England. I was more interested in, you know, actually seeing the castle and walking around the castle gardens. Really famous Bollywood actor right in front of me? I don’t care, get me to the place I came to see. But that only happens when I’m not a fan of the celebrity. If I’m a fan, well, it’s a whole different story. My favorite celebrities have changed throughout the years, but I have finally reached that age and stage where I have my favorites and they will never change. And that’s because I’m not a fan due to their jobs, but rather due to their talent, their personalities and the fact that they are for the same causes and things that I support. And if I ever met or saw any of these celebrities (there’s about 13 of them), you can rest assured that I will turn into a shy, starstruck, mess. And the reason I am mentioning this is because the reason I know that these people support the same causes I do is because of what they post on social media. The reason I know that so-and-so will be attending a certain event on a certain date is because of social media. And, the best part of social media, is that I can follow those people and hope that one day I’ll get a follow back. But I won’t count on that. So, there you have it. Social media may have its downsides but it also has its upsides. It’s all a matter of how you look at it. Stay tuned for next week where I write about…I don’t know. I guess we’ll see. Photo Sources: Wikipedia