Prompt: How real are you on social media?
Uh, in-game chat counts as social media, right?
I’m getting ahead of myself. For the remainder of this essay, I’m going to assume that “Social Media” is anything that you can use to converse with other people other than email (because people who converse with others using only email need to invest in at least a flip-phone). I’m including in-game chats, because that’s usually how I communicate with friends.
Most non-game social media that I use is with real life friends, such as texting or chat room applications like Discord. Actually, only texting and Discord. I’ve never really been a fan of apps like Instagram and Snapchat that are picture based. Also Discord is just better Skype, for those who do not know what Discord is.
But I’m getting off track.
I’m very real when it comes to the limited social media I use. After all, I’m either chatting with friends who know me in real life, or ones I met through games that I trust. Let me get one thing straight: I am friends with people I’ve never met in real life, and I think that’s fine. The wonders of the internet allow us to communicate over long distances, and why wouldn’t I try to get to know people who share the same interests as myself? Now, you must be thinking: “Wait but didn’t people teach you not to talk to strangers?”, to which I reply: “Yeah, but I haven’t given out my personal information yet so I think I’ll be fine.” This prompt asks how real are you. You can be real, but omit information, on social media. All you’re providing people with is an incomplete image of your real self instead of a complete fake image of yourself (or worse, a complete real image of yourself, social security number and home address included).
I omit information about myself when playing games or talking to people I don’t actually know in real life, but that doesn’t stop me from being real. It’s usually common courtesy to not be super political in games, so I don’t share those opinions (there are still people who do this, but the proper way to diffuse the situation is not to yell back but to instead get everyone who is arguing to instead argue about whether the milk in cereal is a soup, a sauce, or a beverage, in my personal experience). Aside from very political opinions, I tend to share many of my opinions while on the internet. I won’t post or say anything offensive (which is common sense). Posting or saying my own personal opinions isn’t a bad thing, because it’s usually in a chat room or game that I like, and therefore other people will most likely have the same interests as my own. It’s better to find people who share similar opinions and discuss minor differences than it is to just find someone with differing opinions and try to find the little things you agree on.
I obviously don’t give out my personal information while on the internet, but I am quite real when I interact with other people. If there are things that I don’t like, I’ll talk about them. If someone wants a second opinion, I’m happy to help. I believe that even if you haven’t met in person, you can still become friends with people over the internet.
Oh, and just for the record, milk in cereal is considered a soup, not a beverage, sauce, or even a stew. Oatmeal is a stew.
Uh, in-game chat counts as social media, right?
I’m getting ahead of myself. For the remainder of this essay, I’m going to assume that “Social Media” is anything that you can use to converse with other people other than email (because people who converse with others using only email need to invest in at least a flip-phone). I’m including in-game chats, because that’s usually how I communicate with friends.
Most non-game social media that I use is with real life friends, such as texting or chat room applications like Discord. Actually, only texting and Discord. I’ve never really been a fan of apps like Instagram and Snapchat that are picture based. Also Discord is just better Skype, for those who do not know what Discord is.
But I’m getting off track.
I’m very real when it comes to the limited social media I use. After all, I’m either chatting with friends who know me in real life, or ones I met through games that I trust. Let me get one thing straight: I am friends with people I’ve never met in real life, and I think that’s fine. The wonders of the internet allow us to communicate over long distances, and why wouldn’t I try to get to know people who share the same interests as myself? Now, you must be thinking: “Wait but didn’t people teach you not to talk to strangers?”, to which I reply: “Yeah, but I haven’t given out my personal information yet so I think I’ll be fine.” This prompt asks how real are you. You can be real, but omit information, on social media. All you’re providing people with is an incomplete image of your real self instead of a complete fake image of yourself (or worse, a complete real image of yourself, social security number and home address included).
I omit information about myself when playing games or talking to people I don’t actually know in real life, but that doesn’t stop me from being real. It’s usually common courtesy to not be super political in games, so I don’t share those opinions (there are still people who do this, but the proper way to diffuse the situation is not to yell back but to instead get everyone who is arguing to instead argue about whether the milk in cereal is a soup, a sauce, or a beverage, in my personal experience). Aside from very political opinions, I tend to share many of my opinions while on the internet. I won’t post or say anything offensive (which is common sense). Posting or saying my own personal opinions isn’t a bad thing, because it’s usually in a chat room or game that I like, and therefore other people will most likely have the same interests as my own. It’s better to find people who share similar opinions and discuss minor differences than it is to just find someone with differing opinions and try to find the little things you agree on.
I obviously don’t give out my personal information while on the internet, but I am quite real when I interact with other people. If there are things that I don’t like, I’ll talk about them. If someone wants a second opinion, I’m happy to help. I believe that even if you haven’t met in person, you can still become friends with people over the internet.
Oh, and just for the record, milk in cereal is considered a soup, not a beverage, sauce, or even a stew. Oatmeal is a stew.
The more essays from you that I read, the more I realize how much we have in common. You know, aside from the part where you like dinosaurs and I like anything that doesn't hit the ground. Anyway, good essay, though I think if you added a few specific details, such as a time when you provided a second opinion, or how you met a specific person online, it might spice up the essay. I also like your random off-topic humor.
ReplyDeleteI think this essay is really cool because it sounds like a conversation. The "im getting off track" line definitely adds to the effect. I also like your use of a rhetorical questions which I think also adds to the conversation like feel. I also like that you took this prompt and made it your own. Oftentimes when I think of social media I think of snapchat, facebook, or instagram but you instead pertained it to game chats which I thought was really cool. I think this essay was mostly reflection so I wish there was some more narrative but otherwise I thought it was great! I also enjoyed your concluding sentence :)
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