Human beings always want to be the top dog, the center of attention, the one that everyone wants to be like. In order to attain this status we have applied some techniques that have made human beings as a whole worse off.
Social media has aided this immense need of attention by making us, for example uploading pictures every time for people to help us confirm that we are good looking because essentially we are not confident enough to confirm this ourselves or by snap chatting ourselves in order to try and convince people that our life is going well.
In essence it has made us more insecure. ‘Insecurity creates strong desires and motivates people to strive for whatever can make them feel secure’. So therefore for us to feel secure we post more pictures, we tweet things that we hope might get other peoples attentions and we retweet things that we think we agree with just because a lot of people have. Practically we don’t think for ourselves anymore.
We have also developed this mob mentality which we think gives us security and boosts our self esteem. Human beings feel they can get with things if they are in groups, they feel more powerful when in groups. However when they face another group this sense of power reduces, this means it is easier on them to face one person. Practically it is easier to agree with everyone than to disagree. This has lead to people not forming their opinions for themselves but by seeking what people who have attained high status think.
Yesterday I read something which said ‘whether you wear a Rolex or a titan, the time remains the same’. This had me thinking what was the point of buying luxury things if another product could just achieve the same thing, especially if you are not that well of. Then I realized, human being who feel like they have not attained any status always feel like they have to impress someone. For example a guy that wears a Gucci belt and folds his shirt up so the world can see that he’s wearing a Gucci belt, he probably cares about what you think of the belt more than he actually cares for the belt. He wants to impress so you can give him recognition and status.
Lastly this is why some not all, relationship will not work, this is because social media gives us a sense that there is someone or something better than what we already have. This is due to human beings always comparing themselves to another, there is a saying “happiness is relative to what you compare yourself to”, if you compare yourself to someone you feel you are better than, you will be happier. However if you compare yourself to someone richer or better looking than you, you will definitely not feel happier. This is why we need to understand that there is no better looking guy or girl, it is just down to preferences, so therefore there is no need to compare.
Comparison leads to hatred. Human beings are full of hatred. This is due to our search of status. Think of this would you hate someone that you think is below you?. No. This is because you think they are not worthy of your hate. The harsh truth is that we only hate people that we think are superior to us. I know this is hard to believe but it is the truth.
As human beings we lie and are often looking for ways to validate ourselves and make ourselves feel better by putting someone who we feel is inferior to us. As harsh as it sounds it makes us feel like we are still valuable after we have been treated bad by someone else. This is also another method of us trying to move higher in status.
Although status can give you the respect that you crave and it can also give you temporary joy, it can never bring forth permanent happiness because you will always strive to try to achieve an higher level of status than you already have. Therefore it is important to have your own voice, be the odd one out and to break the chains of being a follower of the masses.
‘There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.’ Ernest Hemingway
My Cousin Tolu
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