One of the phenomenons about social media that I find the most striking is the fact that it enables us to literally share emotions at the very moment we feel them. Everyone's logged onto one of their social media applications and been annoyed at someone they follow or are "friends" with who are engaging in some sort of emotional rant. (Despite the fact that the majority of us are probably guilty of taking part in this type of thing) I find it so strange, how social media allows us to both communicate our emotions and in turn be exposed to the emotions of others in the very moment they are experiencing them. Often times, I have found from my own experience and from perceiving the rants of others, people delete certain posts a minute or two after sharing them. It's as if social media acts as a means by which we can immediately react, whether it be out of anger or sadness or happiness, and then we're allowed to "take back" the emotion, by deleting it, which is an option we don't have in real life circumstances. In this sense, social media provides the option to "edit" our emotions, and even to delete their existence, at least if we decide that we don't want people to see them after all. Assessing this brings me to the realization that not only does social media allow people to have access to what activities you're doing, where you might be, and what you contemplated over the course of the day; but it additionally allows people to literally "get inside your head," accessing your most raw emotions and initial reactions to whatever the situation may be. Talk about reduced privacy. It is important to consider though, of course, that they can only be aware of what you allow them to know.
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