What Are Boundaries on Social Media?

When it came to posting or creating any type of content to share online, I became so critical of myself. Every post or non-post meant something. There were events that prompted us to collectively share our reactions and emotions. And we know so much of what’s going on around the world that we’re sometimes judged on whether we speak on certain matters or not. In fact, we know too much about what’s going on in the world which can be incredibly overwhelming. There is beauty in this digital era we’re in, but it’s not to say that it’s easy to navigate. In the last few years, I’ve found myself carrying out a presumed notion that I must share everything that’s going on in my life and how I feel about every trending matter. I was used to feeling defeated about not documenting or capturing moments around me. Or judged if I didn’t post my thoughts or reactions to breaking news. I was living for the imagine I wanted others to see of me. Then the pandemic came, and it drastically changed my orientation to social media. There were bouts I didn’t post for months because I simply didn’t care to engage or keep up appearances. We collectively felt the sores of what was happening in our world and that energy helped me to understand boundaries that needed to be made not just in real life but online as well.

I dropped any obligations I made for myself online. I dropped explanations and long captions filled with carefully selected words to express how I felt. I was acting as my own publicist. I began to see social media for the façade it was. In realizing that our virtual world can be anything we desire for it to be. If I wanted to fill my days posting about the sun, I’m going to do that. If I cooked something delicious one day and only post that, then disappear for months on end, that’s what it’s going to be.  

I listened to what truly exhausted me about social media. I didn’t do much except for respect the boundaries that came natural to me. It’s an evolving journey.