Queen of Vanity

musings about what social media does to us

Photo by Erik Eastman on Unsplash

I never understood social media, to be honest. Initially, it was about connecting with people, but as time went on it started feeling like a place of many contradictions: friendliness with underlying hostility that bubbles to the surface at the most trivial things; supposedly genuine desire for human connection buried beneath a heavy layer of misrepresentation – we often show a persona that we aren’t. Even the people who strive to be authentic can’t quite escape this trap, because it’s always only pieces of us that we present before we get on with our ‘normal lives’.

But the thing that has always fascinated me the most is how ready people were to put down others, no matter how much they loved and appreciated them just moments ago. Perhaps “fascinated” isn’t the right word – there really isn’t one that can capture this sense of unease and apprehension; this fearful wonder, this dread, all gripped by a strange sense of reverence. It’s as if the online space makes a part of us less empathetic and human. It’s like watching a fictional TV show, but all the actors are real people and the consequences project onto real life.

There are parts of social media that still connect us and allow us to share things, of course, but I believe we have a long way to go before we find a way to offset the pain it causes.

Queen of Vanity

Shower her with love and let the light fall upon her.
Sing her praises to the sweetest melody.
When someone injects into her poison words,
watch as her body falls to an orchestra of breaking crystal;
her shattered glass castle like her: lifeless in defeat.
You smile either way at her demise,
for the queen of vanity is loved only by those
who wish to topple her.
She knows and yet she asks to die – to fall –
for but a brief moment of generous limelight;
doomed for the price
of cheap praise and empty pretense.

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Thank you for taking the time to read. How do you think we can circumvent the issues that this unique space presents? How can we make it so we see the humanity of others despite them not being physically present? How can we keep our own humanity in those spaces?

Just some food for thought.

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