Photo Credit: Alex Nedelcu
Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Vine. What do all of these websites have in common? They are social media websites where we feel the need to display what goes on outside of school and work. Even though all these websites contain a setting to switch to “private” as a way to keep away from the wandering eyes of those you do not know, it can still be seen by those you do know.
It is okay, I understand where some of you are coming from when you feel the need to update the Internet world with what you bought at Forever 21 or the meal you enjoyed while in San Diego. It would be hypocritical of me to say I do not do the same. But let’s all face the facts: the Internet does not actually care. Of course, that was where I made my first mistake.
I recently decided to share with the people of Instagram a part of my life that I have kept confidential and away from my school life. Keep in mind, I had the idea to post about it at 3 A.M. on a school morning after waking up from three hours of sleep. I, obviously, was not in my right mind when making that decision. Going on the bus to school that morning, I felt bold with my decision in posting. I had no care that I posted it for some of my peers to see. As I walked into my first period:
[vision_pullquote style=”1″ align=””] The problem I came across here is that my social life managed to collide with my school life. [/vision_pullquote]“What? You have a boyfriend, Brittnie? WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME!?” I heard from my shrieking friend.
Of course, I had no idea how to feel: happy, surprised, irritated. What kind of feeling should I have felt? Quickly thinking, I acted shy which then lead to a long line of never ending questions.
All day, I was bombarded with several questions from many friends who follow me on Instagram and who saw the post, causing me to have to repeat myself constantly.
After having some time to think about all the answering I did, I still feel confident in showing the Internet world my life outside of school, but there is still some regret. Maybe it was not such a bad idea to show people what they do not know, but maybe it was a bit too much. The problem I came across here is that my social life managed to collide with my school life.
Sometimes posting through social media is an outlet that people use to show off what goes on in their lives, but some of it should be kept private. Sure, expressing your love for your boyfriend of four months is something acceptable to show off to the public. But, I might have gone overboard writing an endless paragraph for a simple four month anniversary, especially when it is exposed to my peers.
In the meantime, I will go back to posting selfies and group pictures with my friends.
