Vain

I have just read a book called the Psychopath Test by an English journalist called Jon Ronson. In some of the chapters, he talked about a psychopath test founded by Bob Hare, to define whether or not someone fall under the description of psychopath -- one must have fit to over thirty lists to define as one. One of the points is grandiose sense of self-worth. They usually full of themselves. This gets me thinking that, there is a smudge of psychopath essence within each and every one of us. Look at those social media as an immediate instance that so close to us. It allows us to update about our lives, often successes rather than losses, pretty pictures with many likes. Facebook has its likes, Twitter has its, ugh, I don't know, what I had for breakfast information? The list may go on forever.

The recent 'exclusive' social media called Path launched in 2010, offered a unique characteristic that differ them from the rest of other mainstream social media. It allows only 150 friends to share the content. This is supported by a research carried out by Professor Dunbar from Oxford University that in general people have 150 closest friends. I genuinely intrigued when the first time a friend of mine introduced me to this app. I soon fallen into the joyous experience sharing bits of my favorite things with friends that I actually know. However, this soon disappoint me when Path published an official statement: due to the growing popularity, and demand, they increase the numbers of friends to 500. This somehow diminish the exclusivity of its initial launch. It almost have no difference with other social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

This sets me into a retrospective mood on why I, or any other people, use social media in the first place. I would like to connect with friends that I don't get to see every single day, I thought. It is true, social media is a platform to connect, to share. But then somehow it abused the main purpose. It becomes a medium to sell, to promote and most of all, to feed our internal ego. The amount of likes or loves, matter. And this perhaps what forces Path to increase the number of friends. It is either Professor Dunbar's research may have been incorrect that people have more than 150 inner circle of friends, or it is because what people want is not exclusivity or privacy, but instead numbers of acknowledgement. The more loves, the more it is validated that they are matter — perhaps worth it.

Another phenomena that tickles me, is the emergence of popularity of askfm. It is says on the website that it's a global community to build self-confidence, as they are encourage to put forward the users opinion. I personally think askfm suits best for public figure that may need, another, platform to answer question from their fans. In this website, it allows anonymity to avoid the fear of being scrutinized, or shyness to ask questions. The concept is interesting, but very fragile in the same time. Instead of 'fostering uninhibited, truthful conversations' in question and answer process, this site serves as another platform for cyber bullying. So far, there are many teenage suicide cases in the U.K alone because of hatred comments in askfm.

Furthermore, it is also another way to indirectly to put an individual vanity's up on their sleeves. To certain extent, the fact that there is a person out there that is bothered to ask for one's opinion then follows with appraisal as if they are one of Gaudi's sculptures breathe a mist of proudness. Maybe it is the reason why it gets so popular — it is a self-gratifying web. Most of the question circles around themselves, and based on a neuroscience research, everybody's favourite topic is themselves. These what social media do to the society. It boost their ego like a balloon. The higher the number of likes, it puts them on a higher scale of better, 'respected' figure in a cyber space. We live in the culture of vain.

It is everywhere. It is not just in social media. It is in job application, too. Because it is always feels good to hear compliments. It makes you feel as if you are the centre of the universe and everything and everyone orbits around you. It is unavoidable, it cannot escape from any human being, including myself. Maybe it lies within this writing, too. That I am not just writing this to put forward my opinion, but I also want someone out there agree with me, and tell me, I am right. Thus, it gives me a validation of being acknowledge. I would say what a gruesome world we live in now. But then again, the hope to change this way of thinking is passed beyond difficult. I shall end this post with a deep sigh.