This is a throwback to an essay I wrote a while ago. As a young person trying to define what “success” really is, it was insightful to consider what role technology (and specifically social media) has in shaping visions of success. Hope you enjoy!

A while ago, some friends encouraged me to download LinkedIn, a social networking platform for students and professionals. Excited, I believed that using LinkedIn would make my high school experience more fulfilling by helping me achieve my vision of success, which involves finding a way to synthesize science with humanity. Glancing at other people’s profiles made me aware of opportunities available at the highschool level; through looking at the work of others, I felt inspired and was able to expand upon my interests in science and medicine. At times, scrolling through the same profiles would arouse my own insecurities, pushing me into the foolish mindset of comparing myself with others. If used correctly, LinkedIn is a valuable tool; otherwise, it is a distraction. Hence, the advent of the Internet and social media has influenced our personal visions of success, a phenomenon outlined in Nicholas Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” which credits the Internet with both spurring and hindering our thinking, Sherry Turkle’s “Alone Together,” which discusses how technology has distracted us from forming intimate relations, and Jonathan Haidt’s “Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid,” which argues that social media has taken a detrimental toll on society. The type of impact that Internet usage has on people’s success mirrors self-image. 

When people have varying levels of confidence in their identities, their experiences on the Internet differ; some people feel inspired and will use the Internet to develop their visions of success, while other people’s pre-existing insecurities multiply. As we consume the wealth of information online, we have the potential to become more aware of our priorities and convictions. However, others will not experience this reflection and will instead seamlessly integrate information into their own thinking. Those with high self-esteem will use “online worlds” to explore themselves through “…creating an avatar of a different age, a different gender, a different temperament” (Turkle). Similarly, social media profiles are prototypes of who we aspire to be; creating an Instagram page and curating content can help realize our passions and improve ourselves over time. Nevertheless, a huge surge of inspiration – fueled by social media – can lead to inaction, flattening visions of success. If people are “spending three, four, or five hours in an online game or virtual world… there’s got to be someplace [they’re] not” (Turkle). People are not actively developing a plan to implement their ideas, distracting them from their original goals. In the short term, this onset of inspiration provides the pretense of accomplishment and the blissful illusion of pursuing success. In the long term, visions are left unsatisfied leading to a lack of fulfillment and “a surge in rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm” especially as “the large majority of American teens [become] daily users of the major platforms” (Haidt). The Internet further reduces self-esteem, since people – particularly youth – use social media as a measure of self-worth. Our fear of unworthiness has led us to quantify our path to success. As people have bought into the illusion of likes and shares in order to provide validation that their work is meaningful, they “have become more adept at putting on performances and managing their personal brand…” (Haidt). Yet, praise cannot substitute for something that comes from within. We’ll compare our profiles to those of our popular counterparts, and become engrossed in visions of success that will never be ours; we’ll succumb to a vicious cycle of greed and frustration, since no amount of recognition will be enough to bring us happiness. Our concern with public perception has also degraded the integrity of institutions, since “social media instilled in their members a chronic fear of getting darted” (Haidt). The fear of being shamed online stems from the same desire to gain validation from other people; this fear leads to poor decisions based on pleasing our supporters. In avoiding a dart now, people will get hit by a bullet in the future, since they’re surrendering control of their thinking and impeding the formation of a personal vision. Hence, individual ambition takes us away from greed and the need for validation, as it channels our focus toward ourselves. As a result, our value increases, and the Internet becomes part of our surroundings – not our thinking. 

Furthermore, visions of success impact how people use technology to mediate their relationships. Those with high confidence will use the Internet to build beneficial connections that would aid them in pursuing success, while others aim to experience control in their relationships. Carr, for example, used the Internet to connect with fellow bloggers, “friends and acquaintances.” The “similar experiences” these writers shared when processing information from the Web motivated Carr to conduct research on how the Internet impacts contemplation and author a provocative article on the subject. This ultimately satisfied his curiosity and his goal to change people’s perspectives through words. In addition, our fear of public perception translates to relationships, which are messy, exhilarating experiences. We’ll never know how another person truly views us, and this is scary for many, since we equate positive relations with success. We become fearful of taking risks and achieving true intimacy. We thus sacrifice authenticity, which “…follows from the ability to put oneself in the place of another, to relate to the other because of a shared store of human experiences,” for control, where “texting offers just the right amount of access” as it “puts people not too close, not too far, but at just the right distance” (Turkle). On the contrary, those with high self-esteem will realize that even if they experience hurt, they have a vision to live for and are not solely dependent on another person to bring them joy. In relationships governed by technology, superficial measures of connections, such as follower counts, are prioritized, as they provide the appearance of community respect. Due to the shallow emphasis on becoming “internet famous,” the Internet promotes a world where we selfishly view relationships and connections as a way to gain validation, not as a way to grow and develop (Haidt 4). Once visions of success reduce people’s character and understanding of others, those people cannot be considered successful. Turkle touches upon this by discussing Ellen; during Skype calls with her grandmother, “her multitasking removed her to another place.” Despite being “more connected than they had ever been before” they were “alone” at the same time. Conventionally, Ellen would be considered successful as she attained her dream of working in Paris; yet, her desire to accomplish more led her to use technology to prioritize efficiency over people, making her self-centered and unfulfilled. However, video conference platforms also provide the opportunity to deepen relationships; thus, pursuing success involves finding a balance between our tasks and spending time with those that matter. The way that we develop relationships is a core component of our self-image. If we feel unvalued, we’ll have a difficult time believing that other people value us, causing us to encase ourselves in a shell. Because the Internet affects our initial attitudes toward ourselves through shaping our personal vision of success, it will inevitably affect the attitudes we project toward others. 

Technology has such a profound impact on our success, since as we look at our phones and social media profiles, we see our own fears and aspirations projected back at us. Personal visions of success are crucial to making a positive difference in the world, as they not only assign value to the tasks we accomplish, but also give us a reason to persevere through difficult times. The most successful people are not those that become complacent, but those that continue to reform their unique vision in pursuit of what they want as well as what’s best for their circumstances  – unconstrained by the opinions of other people. Technology and social media can light the way, but sometimes, stepping away from it can allow us to (truly) chart our own path.