Yalei Wang

You're only as good as the likes you get
This issue has never been a real problem of mine until recently. Somethings happening, my ego is being determined by likes, followers and re-tweets. I know this topic isn't new. I know writers everywhere have already caught onto this topic and it's something that the media have covered. But i've never felt like i needed validation from SOCIAL MEDIA. News flash, Yalei. Social media = people. When i post something on instagram, i always have a feeling about how good that photo is going to be. I have an estimate of how many people will like it. Sometimes, i'm right and sometimes i'm wrong. The fact that popularity is unpredictable, drives me nuts. The worst is when you post something that you think is totally mediocre and then everybody loves it? Have you had that feeling? It's almost anger inducing or something!

And what drives me even more nuts, are those 'manuals' that 'teach' you how to get more followers. They are such liars. People don't become popular because they follow a set of rules. They become popular because of something thats inexplicable. Success can't be manufactured... can it? I'm becoming a slave to social media and i'm ashamed and embarrassed. It's not how often i check my social media that is embarrassing. It's the fact that i don't feel accepted or validated if i don't get more than a certain amount of something back. I mean, yeah that's pretty lame but it's this Google age that we live in. I almost feel like it is only going to get worse and pretty soon, there'll be psychological disorders to do with " Likes " and " Instagram followers ". It'll be called, " Like Disorder ", and it's when you get a panic attack or start crying when you don't get more than 10 likes on something you post.

I mean, i truly feel pathetic for letting something like likes and followers on instagram get me down. What happened to things that actually mattered? Like conversation and colors and making a cool collage you loved so much, you lost track of time. Nowadays, i feel like most people are always on the hunt for the ' like ' high. Because there's a high to getting followers on Instagram and to waking up to a billion likes on a status on Facebook. It hooks us in so powerfully and its unfortunate that i have fallen into its clutches.