Dearest readers, I wish I remembered the days when the participation trophy culture was not around. I like watching movies set in the 70's and 80's, shows too- especially the newer ones. Life was rougher back then. If you're a kid and you face a bully at school and you lose, other kids mock you more- no participation trophy. If you lose a match- no participation trophy. If you get overweight and your diet is not working, people make fun of you- no participation trophy just for trying. This focus on delivering real measurable results, real success- it is tough but even more so it sure is intoxicating. Today, I would like to discuss with you whether social media platforms are destroying the youth and causing negative effects, or if they are in fact an accidental cure for the participation trophy culture that many people are finding increasingly damaging to individuals and our society as a whole.
So, most of you have an idea what participation trophy culture is. Still, let us recap what it is. By all means, it is a culture where people get undue reward, recognition and appreciation simply for participating in something or trying to make something happen. Rewarding effort feels nice whether you give or receive the reward. Likes, thumbs up and other social media dopamine hits are a part of that system. One could say that hey, this is actually encouragement so there is nothing wrong with it. However, encouragement stops if you do not reach your stated or intended goal within a reasonable amount of time; it is finite. However, participation trophies are limitless and, what is more, have become the politically correct way to react to someone's effort. Once participation trophy culture became politically correct, it created this bubble of ceaseless encouragement that allowed many of us to go on journeys to important destinations and actually keep getting complimented on journeying regardless of whether we reach the destination or not! It sure felt good.
However, that is when it hit us, and it hit us hard. Instagram came on the scene, then TikTok, then many random people becoming poplular YouTube creators and so on and so forth. You see, it would have been perfect if all we saw on Instagram was our pages with our content and people giving us likes and positive comments. However, social media platforms are not bubbles- despite what many people may think. It pushes content on you. It shows you people who you see doing worse than you, now and then, but more often it pushes content on you of people who are way, way better than you at something that you hold dear. Suddenly, your participation trophies begin to lose their shine until they become worth way less in your eyes. Why? Because those other people actually finished their journeys and reached their destinations and you did not! This is where people diverge into two groups. One group does not give a crap, looks at their own plate first, and uses other people's success as positive, motivational energy while reinforcing their fate that there are still possibilities to, as they use to say, rise above your station. The other group gets envious, depressed, angry and worse- much worse. They escalate as they try to cut down the tall grass, anything that sticks out above the rest. I cannot blame them, that is their only modus operandi (had to look that one up haha) that they are capable of because the participation trophy culture has a tight, tight grip on them (and not in a fun way haha).
So, the social media platforms do two things. One, they take your content you put on them and hold it up to you as a mirror; what you do with your reflection is up to you. Two, they show you how amazing things are for people who reached destinations on their one or many journeys, and that the journey itself without the destination is nothing but aimless wandering inside a fog of mediocrity. True, the participation trophy culture has taught us the value of being a bit gentler, a bit kinder, and let us say less violent as well towards those still struggling to complete their journeys. However, as with everything in life, moderation is key.
Share with me (if you like) if anyone or anything on social media platforms has helped you change your life for the better or complete a journey of your own that was beginning to take way too long. If not, I hope you like today's musings of mine and I wish you a great rest of the week!
So, most of you have an idea what participation trophy culture is. Still, let us recap what it is. By all means, it is a culture where people get undue reward, recognition and appreciation simply for participating in something or trying to make something happen. Rewarding effort feels nice whether you give or receive the reward. Likes, thumbs up and other social media dopamine hits are a part of that system. One could say that hey, this is actually encouragement so there is nothing wrong with it. However, encouragement stops if you do not reach your stated or intended goal within a reasonable amount of time; it is finite. However, participation trophies are limitless and, what is more, have become the politically correct way to react to someone's effort. Once participation trophy culture became politically correct, it created this bubble of ceaseless encouragement that allowed many of us to go on journeys to important destinations and actually keep getting complimented on journeying regardless of whether we reach the destination or not! It sure felt good.
However, that is when it hit us, and it hit us hard. Instagram came on the scene, then TikTok, then many random people becoming poplular YouTube creators and so on and so forth. You see, it would have been perfect if all we saw on Instagram was our pages with our content and people giving us likes and positive comments. However, social media platforms are not bubbles- despite what many people may think. It pushes content on you. It shows you people who you see doing worse than you, now and then, but more often it pushes content on you of people who are way, way better than you at something that you hold dear. Suddenly, your participation trophies begin to lose their shine until they become worth way less in your eyes. Why? Because those other people actually finished their journeys and reached their destinations and you did not! This is where people diverge into two groups. One group does not give a crap, looks at their own plate first, and uses other people's success as positive, motivational energy while reinforcing their fate that there are still possibilities to, as they use to say, rise above your station. The other group gets envious, depressed, angry and worse- much worse. They escalate as they try to cut down the tall grass, anything that sticks out above the rest. I cannot blame them, that is their only modus operandi (had to look that one up haha) that they are capable of because the participation trophy culture has a tight, tight grip on them (and not in a fun way haha).
So, the social media platforms do two things. One, they take your content you put on them and hold it up to you as a mirror; what you do with your reflection is up to you. Two, they show you how amazing things are for people who reached destinations on their one or many journeys, and that the journey itself without the destination is nothing but aimless wandering inside a fog of mediocrity. True, the participation trophy culture has taught us the value of being a bit gentler, a bit kinder, and let us say less violent as well towards those still struggling to complete their journeys. However, as with everything in life, moderation is key.
Share with me (if you like) if anyone or anything on social media platforms has helped you change your life for the better or complete a journey of your own that was beginning to take way too long. If not, I hope you like today's musings of mine and I wish you a great rest of the week!