A Gentle Reminder That Your Social Media Likes Won't Flash Before Your Eyes When You Die

"The most shattering experience that can befall the human spirit is the death of a loved one." A quote by Norman Vincent Peale.

The bereaved person wanders across a desolate plain from which, it seems to him, every familiar, guiding landmark has been obliterated.

His loss will seem so final and absolute that, no matter how well-adjusted he may be, for the time being it is almost too much to bear.

You have to imagine and conceptualize on the fact that you’re going away one day. You're going to leave everything, and everyone you ever knew behind, and you're not taking anything with you as you go. 

And when you reach the end, when the inevitable death finally comes for you, you aren't going to be thinkng about all the shares, likes, and comments you got on your Instagram, twitter, and Facebook post.

You aren't even going to think back at the days when you were feeling thankful for life and hashtagging several bunch of words to get more followers, and get more random people to notice you.

When that time comes, you won't be able to go back, you'd wish you could, but you can't. You'd wish you had helped that person if only you knew, you'd wish you had prayed to God more, and do good more. 

You'll realise that those likes an comments, and the millions of followers that follow you whom you have no idea who they are in real life, you'll realise that those aren't achievements, they aren't blessings, they're burdens.

This is not to say that social media isn't important, no. Of course it is, it connects us like never before. It mobilises us, educates us, and it brings us together from all over the world.

But it also blinds us in certain ways. It stops us from seeing the world as we should. It causes us to want something that doesn't belong to us. It causes us to feel jealousy and be tempted to act both legally and illegally.  

You have to know that the purpose of your life isn't just to have a fantastic Instagram account with millions of followers. Sorry but it's not. 

Indeed it will feel nice to have millions of people liking and commenting on your page, it's an enjoyable perk of living the life of your dreams, but in itself, it is not the reason you are in this world.

Look at it this way. Imagine if you were going to die tomorrow, and you have only a few hours left to reflect on your life.

Here's what's gonna happen, you won't recall those big moments. You know, the graduations, the birthday parties or even Christmas. But you know what comes to your mind? Regret. Resentment. Time mismanagement. 

You'll think about the little things such as the joy of being alive. When you were little as a kid, playing with the sand. Those times you spent with your siblings laughing, and chatting. Those lovely moments you spent with those you love. 

This is not meant to devalue or restrict your presence on social media. It's an important factor for us today. It's a successful business for some, and at the same time it's validating for others as well.

The aim of this post is to help you cool off. To take a Step back, and relax a bit. Let go of feeling anxious about not being like so and so on social media. Don't try to portray yourself to be like others. 

Sometimes you can even confuse that, and tell yourself that you're not living a good life. You see most of these mega successful people, they aren't posting the negative, and problematic events that happens in their day to day lives. 

They aren't posting the arguments they have with spouses, the loss they sometimes incure, the health issues, and the list goes on. They simply show you the good stuff. Like how they sold a million copies, how their new book is now a best seller, etc. 

Most of these celebrities go out of their way to avoid sharing anything that is too personal on their own feeds. And you see those pictures of them smiling on social media, most times, they put on fake smiles, and just smile for the camera. 

News flash, Instagram is not real life, it's merely just a series of updates about other people's lives. And it's turned into some sort of community. 

While that is not a bad thing, it's a reminder that you should not waste another moment of your life trying to make it your great ambition to have a certain number of likes, and followers. 

If you knew how seldom people thought of you, you'd stop caring about those social media features entirely. Nobody's probably looking. Because guest what, they're too busy evaluating, and filtering their own pictures.

Conclusion

First things first. Live first. Capture it later. Accomplish before you celebrate. And when the inevitable finally comes, when you reach the end of your life, you are not going to wish you had added more filters to your pictures on Snapchat. 

Infact, in about 15-20 years from now, there's gonna be another new social platform out there and you'll probably look back, and laugh at all the filtered photos and hashtag blessed you did in the past. 

Live well while you can. Remember that the stoics always urge us to keep in our thoughts: “You could leave life anytime." So engage in less social interactions, and engage in more physical ones.

Enjoy what matters, be content with what you have, which is your life. You're here, you're breathing, you're walking, but remember, that has an expiration date as well. So make every minute count.