Culture of anti-social Networking

Technological advancement is evolving human life every second and with its onset,social media continues to flourish by allowing people to connect with everyone from any corner of the world. While there’s no doubt that it makes it easier for people to stay in touch with their loved ones but the real life conversations are taking a backseat as online networking is the new and most preferred face of interaction. Social media is slowly paving way for a “photoshopped world” where editing and filtering one’s life to make it look perfect is considered the new normal rather than just naturally existing. It fosters a culture of endless scrolling and mindless posting, brigading users to compete with each other by constantly trying to rate them through the parameters of likes, followers, retweets, etc. The pressure to be socially accepted and celebrated can not only harm the self-esteem of a person but can also take a toll on their productivity and mental health which are the guiding principles of survival in the real world. The validation that users get with mere numbers on a screen is a made up world with arbitrary views to keep them addicted to the platform, making them more vulnerable at the same time.
Man is a social animal embedded with the ability to think, communicate and reason in order to create an inclusive environment dependent on interpersonal relationships for everyone to share and grow. But with the advent of social media, the concept of "believe in yourself" got shunned by "believe in your #selfie" through its taxing glamour and highly filtered versions. In this fast paced digital world where everything seems to have to be documented online to be official, the pull to post as soon as the food arrives, people being constantly on their phones during their daily commutes etc, can prove to be staggering in the long run since there's a fine line between consuming social media and getting consumed by it. Being present in the moment and conversing face to face where one actually has the power to resonate, reflect and feel the very expressions and emotions of the person they are talking to, is more important than capturing that moment for the purpose of getting digital traffic and attention. Lastly, keeping current context in the picture social media has somewhat bridged the gap of communication caused by Covid 19 through zoom meetings, trends, challenges, community help etc but aren't we all waiting to exhibit and experience the real world again?