by Isoken Aruede

People often wonder why a social butterfly such as myself, has chosen to possess a non-existent online presence.

“Seriously? You’re not on Facebook?”

“What’s your twitter handle? …Huh? …Liar.”

“There’s no way you’re not on Instagram! Look at you!”

It all started around my primary school days. I had just gotten an e-mail account launched for the first time which led to my decision to become vegetarian– but that’s a story for another day…

Everybody was so hyped about Facebook at the time. All my friends were on it, teachers, family, friends, enemies, pets – everyone was on that parole.

I wasn’t.

I’ve never really been one to act based on peer pressure so I’ve never actually been that kid who always gets so psyched about ‘the in-thing’

These were the words of my mother who had read her fair share of social-media based criminal happenings in the news– “You cannot have a Facebook account till you’re 35!”

It’s not like I really fancied the idea of virtually connecting with people anyway, so it just gave me an excuse to hold on to: my mummy said I shouldn’t.

Fast forward to my first few high school years and my mother couldn’t even remember this command! If you ask her today, she would even deny it! Alright…

Twitter was the in-thing at that time, and everybody who was anybody had an account.

I didn’t.

And this time, I couldn’t blame it on my mother.

I saw my so-called friends slowly losing their souls on this platform; obsessing over the amount of followers they had and losing their minds when someone they’d follow won’t follow back. It all seemed so…senseless.

Then people would use their Twitter followers as a popularity contest, and you’d have people who would really struggle and scrounge just to raise their followers’ digits.

Madness!

Then Instagram came along for the vain and photogenic descendants of the land, and I fortunately did not make that cut.

Now I really can’t be bothered about opening some social media account to a virtual world that just seems so detached and superficial. I like my privacy and I like physically interacting with actual people.

I’m not saying social media doesn’t have its perks – one can socialize, stay updated with current affairs, and even make money seeing as social media is now apparently the biggest platform for marketing and advertising.

When I become some business-booming entrepreneur, I might just inevitably get initiated into all that online hullaballoo.

But for now – Eww. It’s not my thing.

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Isoken is an undergraduate of the Pan-Atlantic University; currently studying for a degree in Media & Communication. She has always been interested in creative writing and from the age of 6, and has written a vast number of poems, public speeches, newspaper articles, and short stories. She won the 2013 National Essay Competition organised by the YSCC (Youth Support Counseling Consult) along with the opportunity to tour the U.K upon her victory