Letter to a Friend

Dear Friend,

How are you? I have just noticed that I did not write to you for a long period of time. Trying to think what the reason for my shameless silence is, I have understood that it is the fault of social media. Despite the fact that I have already celebrated my 30th birthday, I am still interested in social media and it appeared that I spend there more time than I should. Have you ever thought about it? How much time do you spend daily on social media? Have you ever thought what are you doing there? I have decided to study this question and I have found out many interesting facts about myself. Do you want to know the results? I am sure you do. Here they are.

Having checked a couple of sources, I have found two very interesting articles: “Faces of Facebook” by Kate Beals and “I Tweet, Therefore I Am” by Peggy Orenstein. Didn’t you come across these articles? Their main idea is to show that when trying to express themselves on the Internet, people usually try to show themselves as the others would like to see them. No one cares about showing personal identity as it is. No one wants to open their souls. Playing in their lives, people usually continue playing online. However, games online may be more courageous. Some people do not show their faces and pretend to be someone they are not. This is not actually a fraud as in some cases people really believe in their created identities.

Despite the fact that these two articles share a personal experience about registering and creating accounts on Facebook and Tweeter, I find them more meaningful and informative. These two articles have one idea in common, they try to explain to people that while being online, they do not show themselves as they are but they try to show themselves as the others get used to seeing them. “Faces of Facebook” by Kate Beals depicts the experience of a person aged 30+ of registering on Facebook. Another article carries a broader effect since the author explains the main idea of Tweeter and the messages people try to deliver to the audience. Besides, some basic ideas about Tweeter are provided.

One of the main purposes of human presence in social media, as many people think, is to show who they are, to find more friends, and to communicate. Do you know what people think when they post anything on Facebook or Tweeter? I have always been sure that while posting something, people usually think about themselves and their ideas. This is completely wrong. I studied some information and I conducted an experiment, and I can say for sure that when people post something on Facebook or Tweeter they do not think about themselves.

Friends and the other visitors of the account are the focus of attention of a person who posts something on social media. I have been analyzing myself for some time. Before writing some information in my profile, posting some ideas or sharing some news, I thought about those who would visit my page. What will they think about me? Will they approve my choice or not? Will they like my ideas? I have caught myself on the thoughts that I do not want to share the information I really like, because I do not think my friends will support it. What is this? Why have I become preoccupied with the thoughts of others rather than mine? This was a surprise for me and I decided to study this issue in detail. Now, posting some information, I still think whether my friends will like it or not and I keep smiling. Think about it. I am sure you are the same.

Sincerely,

Your friend