The Pathetic World Of Reels
- Confession -1 After sending my husband to his office, I started watching reels, and then I forgot about other household chores. When my house help knocked on the door, it was already noon 😞. I even forgot to take my medicines, and this happens more frequently now. I try not to pick up the phone only to fail to do so.
- Confession -2 I had to cook lunch for my kids, but I was busy making a reel of a trending song. So I made instant noodles for them. They were so tired after a hectic day and needed a wholesome lunch. I felt sorry, but then I started editing my reel with a sense of guilt.
- Confession -3 I scheduled a meeting with my friends at a luxury mall near my home to create a new reel featuring a viral song. To make the video more cohesive, we bought matching clothes and accessories. Our spouses asked us not to purchase anything unnecessary, but we decided to go ahead with our plans anyway. We weren’t particularly concerned about our budget.
- Confession -4 My daughter is fond of reel making, and what I didn’t expect is that she is trying to make some reels with her father, and he is not comfortable with reel making in public places.
- Confession -5 I make reels with my teenage son. Initially, he was too shy to follow my instructions. And now, our followers are growing. My son is grown up now, and my family has stopped talking to me, accusing me of putting inappropriate content in reels.
- Confession -6 I was a good student, and my friends taught me that we can make quick money by making reels. I went astray and made my life hell. I couldn’t complete my studies, and unfortunately, making reels didn’t do us any good either.
- Confession -7 I started making reels when I was twelve years old. My parents gave me my first mobile phone so I could join online classes, and they didn’t even know about it. Now I have a long list of followers, and my studies are hanging in the balance.
- Confession-8 I have almost 50 thousand followers on my Instagram account, and I don’t understand how I am losing some of them. Now I am starting to worry about being stuck in uncertainty.
- Confession -9 After earning money initially, I have to keep posting on my SM account, and for this, I have to create unnecessary scenes in the vicinity. This is making me feel awkward, but then it’s all about the earnings.
- Confession -10 I started a journey of creating and sharing inappropriate videos, and to my surprise, I began earning money from it. I am determined to leave the past behind and embrace a fresh start. However, no matter how hard I try to delete my accounts, escaping my past feels increasingly unattainable.
- Confession – 11 I started making short videos showcasing my culinary skills, but viewers’ negative comments affected my mental health severely.
- Confession – 12 I am visiting an ENT specialist nowadays after experiencing a tingling sound in my ears, and I was diagnosed with partial hearing loss because of continuous use of earphones to watch reels.
- Confession – 13: I didn’t have the necessary equipment to make reels, and I wanted to have an iPhone, but my parents were unable to provide any financial support. As a result, I started pickpocketing to fund my needs, and now I am trapped in a pickpocketing gang. The saddest part is that I’m unable to tell my parents what I’m going through now.
- Confession – 14 I lost one of my friends because of his extensive reel-watching habit. He was run over by a speeding vehicle because he didn’t see it coming, as he was totally into his phone at the time of the accident. The worst part of the story is that everyone thinks that he resorted to suicide because of failure.
There are lots of examples of the negative side of the reel world.
I might sound overly skeptical about the negative impact of reels, but I can’t help but wonder how they affect my work as well. I don’t create reels; I don’t have any desire to do so. However, whenever I open my social media app, I often find myself wasting time watching mindless reels.
Honest acceptance of watching reels
Unlike classic examples of people wasting their time on gossiping or just chit-chatting for a long time without keeping track of time, reel-watchers are different kinds of people.
The time one person wastes on entertainment, especially on social media, often turns into financial gain for someone else.
We often get swayed by them and become their loyal followers, even though we know that not all their posts are true.
Some of the content is fake from the very start, some is bad enough to get reported on the respective platforms, some entice enmity among people based on their differences, some are too inappropriate for underage people, some of the content makers deliberately show country important information on their sites to earn quicker than expected.
Impact of reels: Too hard to ward off
With so many improper and tasteless reels, mostly of delusional youngsters, the targeted audience follows the same route in their personal lives, trying to post in the same manner in a wish to gain popularity and money like them.
Sometimes, in the quest for creativity, originality is replaced by vulgarity, and skin-show replaces real issues.
What’s worse is that viewers are making their interpretation of each viral reel, meaning all the negative aspects of a bad reel get replicated multiple times in the wrong way.
What next?
The phenomenon of “reel mania” is steadily gaining traction globally. It is encroaching upon public spaces and intruding on individuals’ privacy, leaving innocent people vulnerable.
Unfortunately, this trend is unlikely to change anytime soon.
Navigating social media can often feel isolating, especially when it highlights social exclusions and contributes to a decline in our overall quality of life. It’s understandable to get caught up in these platforms, but it’s vital to recognize that too much time online can lead to feelings of lethargy and hinder our productivity. Taking a step back might help us reconnect with what truly matters and foster a more fulfilling life.