My Social Media Experience: LJ1

 My social media do's and don'ts have changed a bit since I first joined social media as I have allowed myself to loosen them a bit. Many of my dos and don'ts revolve around the sharing of personal information, as ever since my elementary school technology classes cyber safety has been drilled into me. Even today, I refuse to use my real name in online spaces except in professional areas such as LinkedIn. With the internet, it is incredibly easy for someone to find out about you with just a name, and as such in social spaces, where I do not trust some users, I don't feel comfortable providing that information. Linked to this is my location, another thing I will not give out. I also rarely post photos of myself and, if I do, I am either wearing a mask or digitally cover my face. I was much stricter about this when I first joined social media, when I wouldn't even say I was in Florida or post an image of myself. I also acted like a stereotypical cringy kid, posting edgy art and hoping to become internet famous through my art. I only joined social media when I was going into 9th grade as my mom had been strict about not allowing social media when I was younger. My first social media site was DeviantArt, an art sharing site, and for years it was the only social media that I used. It took me years to make a Twitter account, which I originally made for a class. Now, I continue to use DeviantArt, Discord, and Twitter as my primary social media accounts. Even now, I strongly refuse to use Facebook because of the massive invasion of privacy it represents. I have only ever used it to post content for an internship. No matter what, though, I continue to post art and communicate with other artists as this is still my main reason for using social media. I don't think I would change anything about my history with social media. I think I knew what I needed to know at the time that I joined social media as I knew enough to prevent me from giving out excessive personal information and posting too many immature, embarrassing things. Even though I didn't completely understand the permanence of the internet, I had enough of a sense to understand that I needed to moderate what I posted when I finally began using social media. 

I've always been conservative about social media use as can be seen in my dos and don'ts, so my views on selfies and posting criteria are stricter than others. While I personally wouldn't post selfies, if someone is an adult then it's their decision. However, I believe that when posting a selfie that includes other people, it is important to get their permission before posting because their views may be different. Despite my hesitance surrounding social media, I believe the wide range of self expression social media provides is an excellent device for people to use to explore their own identities through their online identities. People can explore gender and other parts of their identities they may be questioning or uncomfortable with through their self expression. I believe many people need to have stricter rules on what they post. Some people post too much about themselves and reveal too much personal information while others post problematic, false, and hurtful things. I believe people need to consider others before posting. Being a member of the art community, I have been witness to one of the worst parts of social media: the comparisons to others. Artists already have difficulty appreciating their own work, but social media and the random chance of popularity can destroy artists and ruin their passions when they compare their own work to that of others. It's sad how people are forced and expected to compare themselves to others through social media, as it is damaging. I think quitting social media is necessary in some cases. I've known people to quit social media for a few weeks to over a year because they needed the time away, and I appreciate that. Social media can be damaging to mental and physical health and if it is causing harm or distress then I believe people should step away.