As Maggie says most of it is innocent but there are far more serious ramifications, and like Stuart says that can involve mental health issues. But I'd argue that social media has increased mental health issues because young people in particular, or those who are genuinely vulnerable or insecure, feel peer pressure to have attention, be liked and so forth.When I was a young man (and I still think I'm a young man but I'm not !) I worked alongside, played sports with, and became friends with another guy who was, in the nicest possible way, Mr. Boring. Didn't drink, didn't smoke, didn't gamble, had a wife and child at home, all very uneventful. I was the rather off the rails, hotheaded intense young adult who was all about working hard and playing hard.20 years later that same guy has been in prison twice and divorced twice. I bumped into a mutual female friend of ours once and she literally begged me not to tell him that I'd seen her, and at the time I hadn't got a clue why, but I came to understand that he'd developed unhealthy stalking tendencies. And the reason I'm waffling on about this is because his use of social media is, in that context, genuinely scary for any female he has an interest in or involvement with. When his relationship breaks down all his does is to either directly or indirectly bombard that female with guilt trips, as though that's going to bring her back, he's so wrapped up in himself, but there's absolutely no consideration of how he is making his victim feel.In his case, whilst it hasn't been the sole reason, social media has definitely had a significant bearing on changing Mr. Boring, who would give me good advice and was very level headed and had a very stable life, to him going totally off the rails. He's now alone, and spends his time posting 'big me ups' on Facebook about how he now weighs less than in his 20's. It's very sad, but it's also very scary.However, we seem to have gone rather off tangent from CV !. I get what you say Stuart, and yes each to their own, I just personally think it's pretty pathetic when someone who isn't mentally ill and has a public profile sinks to the gutter to try to keep themselves prominent. Maybe it's just me but when it comes to "flaunting it" I'm always going to be more attracted by the well dressed woman who oozes sex appeal in an understated way, rather than the woman who feels the need to get attention from blokes by almost falling out of her clothes in public.
Adam Beamish ● 1998d