Recently I have been thinking about my generation, the millennials and gen Z, and how strange we are. If I had to summarize it into one sentence, it would be this; while trying to be individualistic, we have become the complete opposite, we have become identical. You will notice it on your Instagram feed and when you step out next time.

Ever since the hype grew bigger, social media picked up, and influencers became a thing, we started losing our ability to build our own identities. It’s one thing to be inspired but another to straight-up copy. Whatever is trendy, that’s what we follow next. You will see this often on social media especially, through TikTok videos or going to certain locations, or dressing a certain way to look like the hottest ‘influencer’. Moreover, when you meet these types of people and try to have a conversation with them, it seems like you’re talking to a hollow person who doesn’t quite have their own identity.

Our 20s-30s are known to be a discovery phase where we are in between figuring it out and trying to get it right. Most of the time we choose to go with the direction that has a none to minimal failure rate which is literally taking whatever is considered successful from social media and implementing it into our lives. Essentially making us really the least risk-taking generation and lazy too. Now I know there are readers who will be like but wait if it is working out for that person and they are successful why waste the time and do trial and error where in the end you do what they do anyway?

Well, this is why. This is your life and you are building out your path. How you want to live your life, is yours and yours only. So if you are taking what you see on social media and copying it over, is it really considered your life? or is it just someone else’s that you found appealing and decided that, I want to live that way. Now, if you are okay with this then great but if you are not, then let this be a wake-up call.

What you like and what you dislike should be your own choice. It shouldn’t matter if it is accepted by society or not. You don’t always have to be the IT thing or have to be trendy 24/7 to be accepted by people. And I will tell you why you shouldn’t care because you are literally not in the center of anyone’s universe except yours. Everyone is far too busy being self-obsessed whether they accept it or live in denial about it. What you choose for yourself is what makes you unique and interesting. Not by copying someone else. Think of it this way, when you meet someone new, do you want to hear about their interesting experiences and thoughts or do you want to hear the regurgitated shit you see on social media? I am sure most of you would pick the former and not the latter. So now, how can we come across these interesting people if everyone is trying to be the socially accepted clone derived from social media? We can’t right!

Social media is not a bad place but a lot of us lack the understanding and maturity to be able to use the platforms in a healthy manner. It usually takes seeing a post, reading a self-help book, or talking with your friends about how toxic social media is which eventually leads to either limiting apps use, deactivating the account, or going back to mindlessly scrolling. It takes a wake-up call or social media fatigue for us to realize. Or perhaps this post 😀

As always there are two solutions, one which lets you continue using social media but in a ‘take it with a grain of salt’ manner and mindfully, and the other where you really take a step back and figure out the hard and long way who you want to be. Truly. But what I wanted to really emphasize was that you don’t always have to partake in the hottest trends or have some opinion or have a say in every hot topic floating around.

It’s okay to not have any position and choose not to have any either. It’s okay to not follow a trend. It’s okay if you have your own thing. It’s okay to not like a trend. It’s okay to like a trend. It’s okay to seem like the weirdo or trend follower but do it only cause you want to do it. Not because it is expected of you. Two questions that I think a lot of is whenever my last day on this planet is, I’d like to ask myself did I do enough to follow my own choices and did I live my life as if it were my own. Perhaps you can have a think about these questions too and see what comes out of your beautiful mind!

It is truly a powerful thing, to be able to make your own choices and be happy with your decisions. It might seem like nothing but trust me, it is so powerful in this day and age. And I know how much we love control and want to control every aspect of our lives, doing what YOU want really means you have the most control over your life. You aren’t waiting around and you aren’t basking in short-lived external validation from the society. In a society where you are in the center of no one’s universe, as sad as that may sound. At the end of the day, when you walk around in the crowd, you will stand out because you chose to live life on your terms, not on society’s terms.

Indian Chameleon’s Obiter Dictum for the Day
You do you. Seriously. You only got one life, might as well make it yours and as unique as possible. I’d rather be a rare individual than a mainstream duplicate. That’s what will make you truly STAND OUT where the world will say damn *insert your name* really made a difference in this world.