Social media has never felt legitimate to me. Maybe because it was conceived at the end of my high school life, with the dawn of friendster and myspace, it still feels like high school. I don’t get the jokes, I don’t get the lingo, (oh is that how we say something is cool now…oh okay). It always feels forced to me and I’m always wondering about who this new cool kid is that commented on some other cool kids post. It’s my own insecurity I guess because I can’t just pretend to get it, it feels fun and funny sometimes, but through gritted teeth and a grimace. This turns me into a passive viewer, unwilling to participate even when I feel inclined to do so.
I’m just not there any more, I used to care about being cool, everyone does, to deny that is simply virtue signalling a different kind of cool. I don’t think it needs to be brought down or that its ruining society or anything like that, it’s just not for me right now. Maybe it will be one day.
Another way to look at social media is different kinds of cliques or clubs, if you analyze the language used for each platform it is very distinct it has distinct tone and a distinct sound. When you are among a group of friends that you’ve known your whole life you fall into that pattern of talking, a rhythm a cadence, you use certain words more than others, this is natural.
On social media, it is not natural, but it still exists, Reddit has a different tone than twitter, facebook has a different tone than instagram and so on, 4chan, this is partly due to the users that dominate each platform, as well as the platforms inherent functionality.
Engage in reddit long enough and you’ll probably feel like a know it all, engage in twitter long enough and you’ll think you are quick witted, enough IG and you’ll think the whole world is living a better life than you. It’s all a show, none of its real.
I suppose this isn’t real either, just another show, and more virtue signalling, "the anti-marketing angle, that's a good angle," maybe I'm only comfortable because I can't tell if people are reading it, maybe I'll install analytics to get that endorphin rush, but it feels like it’s more on my terms. No likes.