Under the Influence- How to Fake Your Way Into Getting Rich on Instagram by Trey Ratcliff

Author:Trey Ratcliff [Ratcliff, Trey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781091586550
Publisher: eBook Formatted by www.writingnights.org
Published: 2019-04-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

Selfies and the Ego Running Amok

“There is nothing more important to true growth than realizing that you are not the voice of the mind—you are the one who hears it.”

— Michael A. Singer, The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself

I do enjoy social media. I think of it as a fun game. I play with it the way a fluffy kitten might eye up a ball of yarn. Batting it this way and that, not deterred when it begins to unravel. Personally, as we’ve discussed, I also think social media can be a tremendous tool to inspire and help people. But, as we’ve also reviewed, it’s currently under siege by some of the worst aspects of human nature.

So, let’s get into some behavioral psychology and new patterns which have emerged, now that so many humans are connected through the Internet in ways that didn’t exist fifteen years ago. As a result of these new platforms and ways of interacting, dangerous online sociologies are developing, which are creating and enabling detrimental behavior patterns at the individual and group level. Our increased time online is fueling a growing epidemic of anxiety and depression.

It’s a complex process. First, we see a couple of personas online who have seemingly amazing lives. We look at two of them—Paris Hilton and @slutwhisperer—in this chapter. Then, we compare ourselves and find that our lives aren’t quite as glamorous as the manufactured ones we see on social media. To compensate, we too construct our own public personas, trying to project a glamorous and glorified lifestyle that doesn’t exist. And, of course, no social media persona would be complete without ample selfies.

When I watch my youngest daughter’s relationship with social media, I do worry a bit. Her current trajectory of media consumption, which heavily features YouTubers who are not the paragons of intellect, does not seem to point towards encouraging inner peace. On social media, we’re all on display, judged by people we don’t know against unrealistic pulchritude and consumption standards. I don’t want her to grow up and judge herself by what strangers think of her. I think she’s got a better shot than most at avoiding this, because, as her dad, I’m hyper-aware of all this stuff and I can try to guide her gently. But she still spends significant time online, consuming content developed by Internet stars that might accidentally turn into role models.

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