Do You Remember Life Before Social Media?
If you were born before the internet, you probably have a rich resource of memories how life was before smartphones, computers and streaming apps. If you were born later, have you ever experienced being without internet for a while? Say on a trip to a remote place or by choice for a month long challenge? I recently quit all social media, including YouTube.
It Started With A 30 Day Challenge
My partner and I decided to do a 30 day no social media in December 2025. Our weak points were YouTube and Facebook. Instagram we both quit a long time ago since we didn’t derive much of value from it compared to the anxiety it produced. TikTok we never used. Reddit was also banned for the month. This challenge was surprisingly hard and deep for me, since I used to get a sense of companionship from the creators I used to watch on YouTube on a regular basis. It almost felt like they were my friends and gave me company when I felt alone or stressed. They showed me how to be productive, disciplined, ambitious, and educated. But they also showed me products they got paid to advertise.
When A Friend Wants Your Money
Sponsorships on YouTube always felt a bit conflicting to watch. On the one side, the content the creators produced was free so I understood that they needed to make money to sustain themselves. On the other side it made it clear, how I as a viewer am a means to an end, namely to profit. My views would pay the creator so when I was actively advertised to, it felt like the feeling of friendship or companionship slipped away.
Are We Friends?
Following someone else’s life online is a strange thing. It is a one-sided, or how some like to call it parasocial relationship, that allows one party to actively design the relationship, while the other party, the viewer, is only passively participating. This leads to a strange dynamic, one that is easily distorted into the viewer admiring, envying or worshipping the creator. While the same could be said about a relationship in real life with a friend or relative, the difference is that they do not rely on your admiration for a living. They are not benefitting monetarily from manipulating you into watching more of their content or buying their sponsored products. On social media, it’s a very fine line that is walked between friendship and salesmanship.
Maybe We Are
All this is easy to say rationally though, but in reality, emotions and life circumstances play a huge part in disregarding the sinking feeling of being used for views. What if you feel like you’re the only person in your social circle who doesn’t drink and you cannot find anyone to relate to in real life? Finding someone on social media who’s sober too is encouraging and empowering. You won’t feel so alone. Wanting to learn how to better your finances but don’t know where to start? Personal finance YouTubers can explain everything in detail to you, taking away the barrier between you and the knowledge. Or what if you love birdwatching but nobody around you can relate? Hop onto YouTube and find thousands of ornithologists to relate to and inspire you further. All this comes to show that there is a community aspect of social media and it is strong. It becomes more complicated when companionship gets mixed with monetary incentives.
Not An Easy Conclusion
As with so many things in life, if it was a black and white answer, it wouldn’t be so hard to come to a conclusion. Following people on social media can be immensely beneficial and educational. It can also make you feel exploited and manipulated, without a chance to voice your feelings like in a real life relationship. It is a topic worth exploring, and since it is such a relatively new phenomenon, I hope there will be more to read about in the future.
What are your thoughts on this? Have you experienced any of the above mentioned issues? Feel free to share your thoughts.