Social media is a great place for many of us. We utilize social media and the internet to grow our businesses, connect with new people, connect with lost friends or family, enjoy events, or even dating. There are so many dope things that have come from social media. I have seen some of my friends and acquaintances grow their network, businesses, or even spread positivity and knowledge to the world. It has helped so many people find the love of their lives or even create a thriving business. Yet, social media can be the cause of negativity and hate.
Social media has given everyone in the world a platform to share who they are and what they think. This is a catch 22 because on one side you have all these amazing beautiful things but on the other side who have too many people with something to say. When I was young these things were reserved for the privacy settings of your family and friends but not anymore.
The internet via social media has created a space where one village idiot can find another who agrees with him and in the end, it becomes hundreds and thousands of people agreeing. We all know how this goes, I am certain if you are here, you feel how I feel. But, I wanted to talk about this from a very different perspective. Because it is not always the village idiot, sometimes it is you or me looking for validation.
Simply because someone agrees with you does not make how you feel or what you say right.
So much of us want to be right and accepted that we seek validation from an environment that will give it to us. If we always receive the validation we want because our environment has the same views, do we ever grow? How do we see past what we want the world to be versus what the world should be?
Let’s take a step back further and question why we want validation. Do we want to be right? Do we want to feel connected? Do we want to feel seen? What do we want or expect from the validation we are obviously seeking. Not all things that come with seeking validation is bad because validation can often show us the beauty and value in ourselves that we cannot see.
I watched a video on YouTube where an artist asked a person to describe themselves and he would sketch them based on what they said instead of what he saw. Most of the people did not recognize the person they saw once he completed their sketch and they often saw themselves far less attractive than they actually were.
They would exaggerate features about themselves or not play up the features they liked about themselves. This proved that we do not see ourselves how we actually look. The artist then had a stranger describe the same people and he sketched a picture of them based on the stranger’s description. That picture was more beautiful and a closer depiction of the person. Yet again, it proved that we do not see ourselves for the beauty we are compared to how others see us. Therefore, validation can shine a light on what we are not able to see.
On the contrary, we have to remember not to value ourselves based on that validation. That it is okay to be wrong. We should open ourselves up to opposing views. Like anything else validation is good in moderation despite the internet screaming that we do not need validation from others.
Remember that in all of the beauty in who you are as an individual you are part of a much larger ecosystem that is bigger than you and me. With that being said you can find the validation you need inside of you, occasionally from others, and know that it is okay for others to not agree with you or how you feel or think. That it is not an attack on you or your character or even your beliefs.
The better we understand balance in all things, the better we may be at finding happiness within ourselves and within our environment.
