When social media began, it was the wild f*cking west. No one knew how to use it. “Trends” were only associated with clothing. Hashtags were still called “number signs.” But most importantly, parents had no idea what it was. We were free.
I was in high school so I can’t speak for those in college. When MySpace and later Facebook invited teenagers into this no-rules digital playground, it was like a massive uncharted island filled with your friends. And just like in Lord of the Flies, kids went f*cking nuts. Girls started posting their bedroom photoshoots with friends, guys treated the status bar like it was a Real World confessional, and formerly private conversations started taking place right out in public (“Bro, you don’t need that b*tch.”) But just like when classmates Julia and Connor started their fourth Facebook Official relationship, deep down we all knew… this wasn’t going to last forever.
It wasn’t long before Facebook was infiltrated by parents and school administrators… and everything changed.
Expulsions, groundings, and even a few arrests all started to occur almost simultaneously. What had we done? People started deleting, untagging, adjusting privacy settings, and unfriending Becca because you heard she became ‘friends’ with her parents. It was a lot like…
Years later, we’d have to crack down even more when it came time to look for a job. “We’d love to offer you this position, but our HR department saw that you tweeted some derogatory remarks toward involving your genitalia and Tom Brady in 2003.”
As it turned out, social media was nothing like Lord of the Flies, and much closer to the Truman Show. And that brings me to my props.
There is still a small faction of rebels out there who have no filter at all. I’m not talking Instagram filters. I’m talking about that little voice in your head that says, “Just maybe, it might be a good idea to skip posting that thought to hundreds of people.” These people either:
- A) hate censorship.
- B) have a trust fund and no political ambitions.
- C) act impulsively and uphold a weird “I NEVER delete a post” policy
- D) really just don’t give a fuck
Regardless of their reasons, these people spice up my feed. They are the Rob Fords in a room of politicians. It remind me of the pure beginnings of social media. In a world plagued by political correctness, these are the people who don’t take anything but their own opinion into consideration. It’s liberating.
When asked why they post such incredibly personal, counter-cultural, and/or downright vulgar comments, they may respond that they are just keepin’ it 100. For you squares out there: keepin’ it 100 means that you keep it real, all the time… no exceptions.
And I don’t know about you, but for me… that’s like opening your eyes after a night of partying to a cold glass of Brita water with a few ice cubes floating in it. Refreshing AF.
Some may say it’s childish… maybe. Some may say that ‘they know not what they do’… and they are probably right about that. The point is that they continue to post the things that others won’t. Before you unfollow/unfriend them, just take a moment to respect that in order to bring you that one post involving Obama, Selena Gomez, and a nine iron, they paid a hefty price. They risked their chance at a career, a girlfriend, and they are potentially now being watched by the NSA. And in my opinion, that’s keepin’ it 100. They had an arbitrary inappropriate thought, and they chose to immortalize it in the social media archives.
While I rarely agree with what they are saying and sometimes even feel compelled to shoot them a “c’mon now” via text, I find that I am stopped by a weird sense of respect. All I’m trying to say is that they remind me of the beautiful days of anarchy that defined the first chapter of the social media revolution… and for that… I give those of you with no filter my sincerest PROPS.
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