SayAt? No! SAY NO!

Social media is treacherous! And when I say this, I mean every word of it.

This is not just another post about me ranting about social media; but an attempt to put forth a rational perspective on where social media is leading us to. Fast paced lives, self-exaggerated lifestyles and our addiction – these three factors play the role of key influencers in the way we see ourselves.

Take Instagram for example and all you will see are fashion models, fitness enthusiasts and some picturesque art. In an era where content is over flowing and every second person wants to be the next big ticket item, fashion models are trying hard to get people to go and heart their post. Tactics such as one shown below are most commonly used lately.

Fitness enthusiasts aren’t far behind. Videos of them pumping their muscles or their post-gym sweaty selfies are the new norm. Let me leave you with a question at this point – Are they going to the gym to work out or to put up the story? I still haven’t figured the answer.

Amidst all of these stories and posts, there is something else that caught my attention last week. Several people are going crazy over yet another stupid social media application – Sayat.me[i].

For all of my readers who are oblivious of what this new application is, let me give you a little insight. Sayat.me is a free service which enables you to gather sincere and honest feedback from people you know or give feedback to others. The feedback written stays anonymous, which helps people to be more open in their opinions. To put it simply, sayat.me is a web application that enables you to get input for your own self-development.ⁱ

It took me a few days to realize this was yet another silly application – with the people I follow on Instragam putting up stories filled with ‘sayat.me/xxx’.

The problem I see is this – Why are we turning to an application to gather feedback for our own ‘self-development’? Are we so lost amidst that idiot box in our hand that we are unable to turn our heads to our folks, friends and well-wishers or speak to someone asking for feedback on self-development?

The downside and stupidity is this – We are seeking feedback on Sayat.me from people in our virtual world. While I am not ruling out how essential the virtual world is in today’s day and age, but this practice simply doesn’t make sense.

What is happening in the bargain is this – people are sending romantic, cozy messages to their crushes and of course, our self-declared celebrities on social media feel at the top of the world. Well, wait a minute – Isn’t it an application to get inputs for your self-development?

There are some who go a step ahead to show the world how much they are loved. Screenshots of messages from sayat.me along with hearts and kisses pop up as stories on Instagram.

I strongly believe that in a world where boundaries among people are slowly diminishing, we are beginning to seek happiness through these baseless parameters. Gone are the days when friends would reach out to one another for help in person, or your best friend would come over just to cheer you up! We are just getting lost amongst a host of applications and our happiness is down to likes, followers and anonymous praise.

[i] https://sayat.me/ accessed as on 5 April, 2017