Anonymous messages

If you are into social media or keep up with it on a daily basis you may have seen the new snap chat feature. This new feature allows people to send you anonymous messages. Meaning you are bound to receive messages from people who are too scared to say something to you and most likely don't have the character to say something to your face. This new feature gives users the ability to feel loved and accepted because they are having messages sent to them.

To me, this is frustrating. Have we really gotten to the point where we have to send anonymous messages to people? Have we really gotten to the point where we are going to be satisfied because we are having these messages sent to us?

There are things that are so wrong about this that frustrate me. It's sad to me that we have to rely on social media platforms for satisfaction and inclusion. What happened to saying things face to face? When did it get to the point where feeling loved and like you're apart of something shift to social media? We heavily rely way too much on social media for affirmation.

This whole idea of anonymous messages makes sense. Same with the Instagram feature where you can have people ask you questions. As humans, dopamine is released in our brains when we see activity on our social media platforms. When we see those red notification numbers pop up, we naturally get excited because we know that somebody is thinking about us. For some, that feeling may be stronger than others. I could have a bunch of red notifications popping up and it really doesn't get me that excited. But I know for others as soon as they see it they have to check it out. The bottom line to this dopamine thing is that we are human and we like to be noticed and talked about.

Most of the time we know where our notifications are coming from. We get notifications that tell us so and so liked you pic. Or so and so sent you a message. We get excited about that. Think about how much more dopamine is triggered when you get the anonymous notification. You see that someone said something to you that was flattering but you don't know who it is so you want that more. You want to see what people think about you because we as humans like that sort of thing.

This post isn't me ranting about how things have shifted in our world. It's not me being mad at the people who have done this. It's a fun and creative idea from these social media giants. This post is more so a challenge and it's something to keep you aware of what is going on around you.

The challenge I have for you is to affirm somebody in person today. Tell someone that you see one thing that you have always wanted to say to them. Or complement them on their outfit or something like that. Try saying things in person to someone without coping out and doing it a weird way. Shift your focus from your screen to somebody's eyes. This really isn't that hard. One person a day for a week. Just say one nice thing to them. Before you know it you will be saying nice things to everyone. When this happens it is a win for both sides. You are showing that you are not afraid to share your feelings and the other person doesn't have to look for affirmation from social media. When you don't have to spend time on social media searching for a feeling of being wanted you save time. Time is the most valuable thing that you have to offer. I encourage you. Accept the challenge and watch your life change.

Secondly, I want you to be aware of what is going on here. I hope the first couple paragraphs of this informed you well. People are looking to social media for words of affirmation and people are becoming too scared to share things face to face. This has gotten so out of hand that you can anonymously do this now and it breaks my heart.

My friends, change someones life today because of something you looked into their eyes and told them. There is no better way to show someone that you love and care for them then looking into their eyes and saying something meaningful.

Affirmation is something that means a lot to me because it is my top love language. I am not sure if you have taken the love languages test before but I would really recommend it. Affirmation is so important to me. I feel like I matter and am important when people affirm me and say something positive. There is just no better way to make me feel loved than kind words. Not everyones has the same love language, but a kind word or two could change somebody's day.

Stop it with this anonymous stuff and show that you truly care for someone by looking them in their eyes or picking up the phone and telling them. It'll make a world of difference.