While cleaning my room this morning this little gem popped on my playlist and inspired me to pay forward the contagious yet inherently satirical positivity that is this song. We’re all out here trying to self-promote and market ourselves as fabulous and free of flaws on a variety of different platforms. The consequence of this mass marketing phenomenon is the misconception that everyone around us is living better, happier, more fulfilling lives than the rest of us. However, we all know deep down that’s not true..right?? I’m not so convinced! If you’re constantly being flooded with a wave of influencers on vacations, that’s bound to make you as though your life is painfully mediocre. Additionally, many of those “vacation” photos you’re seeing aren’t even real (I’d highly recommend checking out the HBO max documentary, “Fake Famous” more in-depth look into the world of influencing).
So how do we practice self-care and self-promotion without turning into narcissist zombie barbie or ken dolls willing to shill for a company that promotes human sacrifice (ok, maybe that’s a little extreme and slightly tangential!). In my humble opinion, there are a few ways you can do this.
1. Diversify the content you are pouring out into the world. It doesn’t to be sunshine, rainbows, and trips to Dubai all the time. Share a relatable experience that others might connect with on a personal level. With that being said, self-disclosure can be a very vulnerable thing to do on social media and there are bound to be some trolls trollin’ on you. Perhaps this would be a good time to filter who can view, or find a safe space to disclose. You can also use your platform to bring attention to real issues that matter to you, promote charitable causes, or uplift a friend (with their permission). That is not to say you shouldn’t use your platform to give yourself credit for an accomplishment or share when you are feeling yourself. You should feel empowered to feel good about yourself and share that with others. Just be a real human about it. We know you didn’t earn that PhD without some blood, sweat, tears, and failures along the way!
2. Diversify the content you are seeing. The first step to becoming a self-promoting sacrificial social media zombie is living in a virtual echo echo chamber for-profit social media accounts that aren’t trying to sell you something at every turn. Follow a wide variety of non-influencer news sources and do a little research make sure they are legitimate What’s the bottom line here? Diversity is good. Embrace it.
3. Take a friggin’ break from social media. Delete your Instagram from time to time and focus on connecting with what’s around you. Additionally, it’s no secret that we are all addicted to our phones and those little notifications provide us with a dopamine rush that may have a negative effect over time. Taking a social media break can be advantageous for more than avoidance of developing a narcissist personality disorder (also another extreme here!)
Thank you for coming to my TED talk; I’m glad you made it this far. Keep on Splooting!
