In the age of social media, it’s easy for people to become obsessed with taking amazing photos and traveling to awe-inspiring places, not because they actually want the experience but because they want the likes. On the other side of that coin, it can be easy to become depressed seeing the incredibly glamorous and successful lives that people selectively present through social media (seriously, there has been research that links heavy Facebook and Social media usage with depression).
Not many people in Indonesia are more familiar with the highs of social media fame than Sarah Sechan. After rising to celebrity status as an MTV VJ, the mother of one has stayed in the spotlight as an actress, TV presenter and the host of a popular talk show on Net TV. With around 158,000 followers on Instagram and 2.6 million followers on Twitter, she’s also one of Indonesia’s biggest social media stars.
That was, until yesterday. In a Boomerang video post on Instagram, Sarah left an eloquent and sometimes amusing message explaining her reasons for making that her very last post on social media. She’s set her account to private now so you might not be able to access it, but we’ve copied the full text of her message below.
I have decided that at this age (forever 24, of course) I need to really start living and enjoy every moment of my life, not busy trying to make a point or seek approval from strangers.
I want to whisper my gratefulness (and disappointments!) to my creator only, because we all know God listens to our heart, not reading our captions .
I want to tell a person how I feel & what I’m thinking by talking heart to heart, not post quotes I found on google search.
I want to go back to the days when I eat because it’s basic necessity, not because foodporn posts are considered cool. I want to wear certain outfit because it makes me feel comfortable, not because I have to post ootd (or because I got them free ).
I realize I have spent a little too much time doing unnecessary postings instead of engaging with my surrounding and living the moment. I need to interact & pay attention to those closest to me, as I have no guarantee of how much time I have left to spend with them.
I want to cherish my intimate memories within myself. you know the saying “tomorrow is only a promise”. I want others to speak of my achievements, without me having to shout about it on my posts. I want individuals to know me because they have met me and spent time with me, not because they read a sentence of my caption underneath a photo I posted after selecting from hundreds of pretentious selfies . and vice versa, I don’t want to think I know someone just because I follow him/her on social media.
So here it is, my last post. I made this with boomerang, tried at least 20x, edited with music, spent about 45 minutes overall to have this post on my ig page when I should be getting rid of my makeup half hour ago and get myself ready to prepare dinner. oh life on social media is exhausting and taking too much of my precious mommy-mode afternoon.
Thank you for being such lovely followers it’s been wonderful .
So what do you think? Does Sarah have a point? Are we all wasting our lives online in a meaningless effort to win internet points from strangers? Let us know what you think by commenting on our Facebook page or replying to our Twitter account, we promise to give you a like and follow back.
Update: Sarah Sechan mostly followed through on her commitment to quit socmed, but it seems her puppy Shoku has taken over her account since 🙂
