The more you learn about anything, the more you see it for both the strengths and the flaws.
When I started in social media, all I could see was the big possibility and the amazing opportunities. I saw the best version of companies, and the best version of people. I saw the power to unify.
It was beautiful.
But as time went on, and I learned more, and I watched it develop, the more I saw the flaws. I saw the popularity contests emerge. I saw the spotlight chasers and charlatans. I saw the unremarkable become the norm, and the real meaningful engagement get lost amidst the noise. I saw it tearing us apart.
It was no longer beautiful.
The beauty of the beginner’s mind is precisely in the naivety. Because the more you know, the less likely you will want to be a part of it.
It takes everything to stay positive and hopeful about the thing you were once passionate about, once you see things clearly. I try to remember that one of the reasons I got into this business was to steer it and guide it for the benefit of humanity. It was a lofty ambition and as motivating as that has been, it’s also exactly what causes the heartbreak, because after all this time, it seems it’s only gotten worse.
Either those bright-eyed, bushy-tailed souls didn’t make a difference, or the world wasn’t what we originally saw it to be.
There’s no quit in me, I still see the way forward, but the path seems more narrow everyday.
Photo by Redd Angelo on Unsplash