"Does One Have To Be Good At Everything?" -The Lockdown Social Media Misery

A question that bugs me a lot. I know that enough has been said and written about this already, but why can’t this stop bothering me?

The Lockdown and Social Media Misery

"Help! I can't cook & I don't even want to!"

I’m not a good cook. I might become one, I just don’t try. Cooking isn’t something that fascinates me unless I have to cook to serve my appetite in the middle of the night.

And even in the middle of the night, if I’m not in my hometown under the watch of my parents (who just want their children to be self-dependent), I will only cook when I’m broke.

Also Read: The 7 Best and Most Affordable Eating Points in North Campus, DU

When the lockdown started, people were giving all sorts of cuisines a try because our generation has been spoilt by the likes of Zomato & Swiggy. It isn’t exciting to have the same old set of nutrients in a wholesome meal every single day, so we need exciting stuff in our lives.

And food does that for most of us.

Ron Swanson: everyone's spirit animal when it comes to foooooood

What was I doing during the lockdown? I was feeling sorry about my lazy ass for not helping my lockdown companions enough in the kitchen. I would compensate somehow by cleaning the utensils or doing some other (less culinary skills based) tasks, but the regret sure made me feel inferior to the rest of the humans across the planet (who made sure to let us know about their excellent cooking skills via social media).

"Do I even qualify as a girl if I'm not into fashion/makeup/photos?!?"

Same goes for the fact that I didn’t have any mesmerising throwback pictures to post on my social accounts. If anything, I started to look more like a hobo. Oh I still do look like a hobo.

Thanks to social media, I also couldn’t help but question my self worth as a girl more and more each day.

I didn’t paint my nails once during the lockdown. And why would I, when this was something I’d hardly do before all of this began? And I doubt if I even had about 15 days in this lockdown that would count as ‘self-care’, externally. If anything, I oiled my head even less than I would on normal days.

I still go days without actually looking at myself in the mirror (yeah, sad right?)

"Will I have something good to talk about by the time we walk out of this catastrophe?"

Everyone I know started doing something or the other as a hobby, timepass and productivity booster.

I believe that I did take some care of myself internally, but it wasn’t enough compared to what everyone else was doing. I couldn’t keep up with my yoga practice, and I failed miserably when it came to meditation or communicating with people (even with my own family).

I did learn some new skills. Check this out for instance: Music Playlist Curation

"I lost my job, what do I do?"

Before all of this had begun, I had a decent plan to shift from freelancing to working in a promising industry. Sadly, this industry was directly related to social gatherings. The plan not only failed, I also was so nervous that I couldn't muster enough courage to even talk to my potential employer about the situation.

I kept delaying 'the talk' for months (including the fact that I had to collect a payment from him). It was a major buzzkill for my mood and professional growth.

Social media was full of memes for people distressed because of WFH. I felt so, so bad that I didn't even have a job anymore.

Also Read: Was Television Really The Idiot Box?

How I planned to resolve this tricky situation:

All of this could've been avoided if I simply just left social media, right? Well, I didn't want to!

I needed it to interact with my friends and family. Man is a social animal afterall.

All of us wish that the pandemic gets over soon and we can move back to our old lives where social media wasn't the place where we interact with people the most. 

But sadly, even if the pandemic was somehow over, its impact is here to stay in our lives.

Like all people, I wish I could be confident enough to easily let go off of my disturbing thoughts. While I try to indulge in the hobbies that I love, I am also learning how to take care of my mental health while being on internet.

(Tap on the image to be redirected to the source:
6 ways to protect your mental health from social media’s dangers)

I made separate accounts for separate moods as one step towards self-care. Like, if I'm in a mood to feel creative and not be bothered by the amazing personal lives of people I know, I go to my creative account. If I'm in a mood to catch up with my closest friends, I go to my finsta. If I'm in a mood to rant, I go to Twitter.

If you've found yourself in the same boat as me- moody and depressed because of social media... you could give this thing a try too! It's all about sorting your social media platforms as per how they make you feel.

What you see affects what you feel. It works to separate yourself from what makes you feel bad.

How do you resolve this?

Let me know about your tips and tricks. It's always good to connect with like-minded people, provided it's over texts and comments (because of my social anxiety hahahahah).

Thanks for reading!