I decided to delete my Twitter and Instagram. Let me just preface this by saying my only intention for joining any platform, all the way back to Myspace, was to market myself. As a heart patient whose undergone five heart surgeries by age 10, I reached out to meet and communicate with other heart patients to compare notes and hear stories of growing up with something unique. For those of you in the dark, 1 In 100 babies a day are born with some form of Congenital Heart Defect. The psychological stress that one has to endure, constantly worrying about their health, let alone the heart, the most important organ in the body, can get exhausting.Ā
Despite my heart condition, Iāve had amazing experiences. My family is a Marine family. My father served for 25 years until I turned 18. Swimming with sea turtles is by far my favorite childhood memory. Climbing two volcanoes, meeting a Holocaust survivor in college, acting in plays before I was a pre-teen, wasnāt all bad either. I did all that without social media, and I enjoyed every minute. Never caring to post my so called perfect life for the world to see. But as the world evolves we humans do as well. So I got sucked into the digital scene.Ā
I never cared for politics. It wasnāt long after Trump won in 2016 that the vitriol came his way and anyone who supported him. He was a man in the public arena for decades and no one seemed to have a problem, including the Democrats. But 24 hours after announcing his candidacy, the media began assassinating his character, trying to convince Americans he was a particular type of person.Ā
Hearing the negative narrative of him for four years, most of it BS, caused mental health challenges for me. I couldnāt partake in the constant brutal slaying and stay on top on every new story.
A quote on a Ted Talk crystalized it for me. Bailey Parnell said,Ā āIn social media, we are the product.ā Why do we teach ourselves and children to be independent, intelligent, ignore negative comments from bullies, and form their own identities, not allowing others to dictate who we are, and yet the opposite is true for social media? We post 37 pics of the same thing before posting the āperfectā one and then seek validation in a like, a nice comment, and a group who thinks like us? If we donāt, our self-esteem is fractured. Iāve come to see itās all too time consuming and co-dependent. We are feeding a monster. A toxic relationship which is hard to break away from.Ā
The initial reason I joined social media was to share myself as a heart patient and market my debut collection of poetry, āIf My Heart Could Talk and Other Poemsā. This is not a PSA convincing you to delete your accounts, I just want you to ask what meaning social media gives you? Can you enjoy a moment in life with your eyes and not through the lens of a camera? Choose to be productive. Look up, not waste time with your head down. This world is waiting for you to enjoy its beauty 100%.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
