Trends VS Reality

“If you’re looking for the next big thing, and you’re looking where everyone else is, you’re looking in the wrong place.”
Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks

Hello everyone, how are you today? Here I’m with you again for a new post, but 1st, before beginning let me tell you who I am? Yes, you read it right; I’m not just the blogger you see here, I’m more, I’m a passionate writer and photographer; when I was a kid, I loved stories, hearing them and when I started learning in school, my Mom and Dad gave me my first book and it was a book of short stories for kids, sleeping stories; so every time I learnt a letter in Arabic and English; I go home and open the book to find it… 

I loved the novels we read in school; also always bought books and never stopped since then; but also I was so imaginative and telling stories to my friends, still so imaginative (don’t worry :D) after finishing my collage, exactly in 2017, I made this blog; also I started having accounts on Social media; 1st phone I had, I was in collage, and I love the sky, nature and Architecture so much that I wanted to take photos and keep it; then I realize how much I love those two things the most, writing and photography.

But, here comes a fact and unfortunately the worst thing ever in my opinion at least; that luck wasn’t in my side, people didn’t follow me or subscribe on my blog; maybe there were so other factors that made me not so good at social media, but I’m different, not your type, not your up of tea, I’m a different type, someone who always look where no looks, I look to places people usually won’t look at because it loos like a desert to them, but to me it’s more than that; to know what I mean. We will go together after bringing our coffees or any drink you prefer to go and dig deep into our post here…

“Privacy is dead, and social media hold the smoking gun.”
Pete Cashmore, Mashable CEO

What is Social media? It’s all the platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, X, Threads, and TikTok; The platforms we use to socialize, build a brand, show a talent, and get famous with more likes, comments and shares then more money; for some people think because they have private accounts that means it’s private, is it? We will know that later.

Since the beginning of the Social media Era, trends were part of it, remember when Facebook was out, and it got very successful, then X aka Twitter, Instagram, and so on… Each platform somehow builds the trends, the more you do those trends, the more you get likes, comments, and get to be known, from pics to videos, to reels to now TikTok; when YouTube was out it was a hype and everyone somehow tried it in his/her way, but after a while, if you type in the search bar in YouTube “basic nature makeup tutorial for beginners” you’ll find hundreds if not thousands around the world if not from the same country talking about the same topic,  doing the same thing!

1st, let me not be so judgmental, maybe they are telling it differently, showing different techniques,  or maybe some could make it easier than others; 2nd, it’s like an acting career, some people admire this actor/actress and others admire this or that, right? 3rd, maybe all of those people love makeup so much and found out that this is the career they want to have! But are all those reasons enough or fit all? No

Yes, I said No, why? Simply because some like to try the trends, that’s why you’ll find consistency and on the other hand, you’ll find people change from this to that… 

Social media is a powerful thing, and I won’t deny that I love it, but like all technologies, everything has two faces, it’s a coin with two faces, a sword even, either you use it in good or use it in bad.

The example above was just a simple example of how anything can be a trend from clothes,  makeup, to decor, interior, and lifestyle; also photography, acting, singing, and performing became trends!

Like anything in life, social media can be addictive, from addicting likes and comments to addicting following and counting followers, to addicting trends, and money that can come from it…

I’m like many others who try to make a place for my art and my portfolio on social media and gain followers and subscribers who want to be there and enjoy my work here on the blog or in social media, before going further in the post, I assure all of you that I try everything before writing about it.

For a while now I fell into the trap, the trap of counting followers, likes, and trying to do trends maybe then my brand will expand, but it was so depressing, and so exhausting to look every moment on people follow you then unfollow you, and so on… It was like addiction, you see a story of this trendy face mask, or this lip gloss, or this slipper, or a trend of a song, or a sport, yes, even working out became trendy; or a trend about coffee like tiramisu coffee, or matcha (and this one im dedicating a paragraph to it…)

Matcha is one of the famous trends; Matcha is healthy, but hate to break it to you, that the one you buy from the coffee shop isn’t that healthy, matcha is known for its many health benefits and how to get its benefits but what you buy from the café isn’t that healthy with so many added to it; but how it became a trend, maybe the 1st Pic of some girl in the gym holding it, or maybe it looks healthy because it’s green, or maybe because yoga and marcha aline; it’s not important how it became a trend, the thing is that this trend and word matcha is like a virus that got so viral and became addictive, it looks healthy but it’s not if not made at home in its real form…

Of course, matcha isn’t the only trend, there’s also Boba drinks, and every time a drink or food becomes a trend all the cafes and restaurants run after it and try to make it differently with their signature as they say in the menu.

Let’s get deeper, and move on to the most unhealthy trends, such as the newlywed couple and their lifestyle, or this new mom, or this girl/woman influencer, or this boy/man traveler and content creator you follow to get tips and tricks to improve your lifestyle or travel or get motivated to achieve your goals and dreams, but let’s ask something do we get motivated from them or get depression and stop living life and just run after what they do to do the same???

In my opinion, this is the most dangerous thing in social media, what you see is a small screen that shows you someone traveling all over Europe the USA, or anywhere, and living the best life ever; that’s what the video or the reels and photos show you, but no one speaks about the accidents,  the money you need to save to travel, the hard work, the many papers you need, the issues and complicated things we could face; no one tells about the problems, it’s all about how beautiful life is, and we all know life isn’t always beautiful.

This newlywed who goes everywhere and takes selfies of how they are so happy and tries everything together and lives their best life, but they don’t tell about the fights and problems…

That influencer with perfect daily routines and glowing skin, not many show you the imperfect skin, and even after the trends come out in favor of natural face and natural body, curvy or fit, overweight or thin, it’s a trend; no one tells you about back pains or headaches or facial problems in front of camera even if they still talk about it.

And the examples can go on and on, what we see in this small screen isn’t always the reality, it’s a show to expand brands, even personal brands, not just companies, it’s a show to gain followers and then maybe money and collaborations and list goes on…

So, let’s come to you and see how this affects you and your life? We can’t deny the fact that sometimes those people can be good and you can learn things from them and their experiences on social media, but unfortunately, after a while, it becomes exhausting and turns you upside down, sometimes it affects your relations; even some people experience depression from watching all this on social media…

Again social media is very powerful, sometimes it  can even change politics..etc, but this power is energized by people, by all of us, trends take their power and get viral because we try to do it, sometimes even if we don’t like it, or sometimes because of unreasonable reasons, or because of the false glamor we see in pics and reels and videos.

Another example a girl will get married soon, so she goes to social media and Pinterest (BTW I love Pinterest) to see decorations and dresses and so on, she gets mesmerized by some pics, and asks for the same or looks alike without thinking of money or if those images are edited and photoshopped or not! Then if what she has didn’t look like what she wanted or her wedding photos aren’t the same as she saw on Pinterest or social media this leads to not being satisfied and anger and sadness even…

Life is more than a small screen, as a writer, and photographer believe me I fell into all the traps and tried to be like everyone else and that led me to be unsatisfying and always angry and envious of others and hating my life, and being depressed, almost depressed; this experience taught me that life is more and deserves to be lived with bads and goods; we run and keep running after trends and never stop, it becomes like a race, working out and take pics in the gym, drink matcha or Boba even if you don’t like to take this Pic or reel to gain followers and likes; wear this color because it’s trendy in 2025 even if you hate that color; talk about that same topic that many talked about to not be stranger or talk about politics because maybe they will say that you don’t care and judge you; but what you don’t know that they will always talk and judge you in anyway.  

Don’t let trends and social media draw your lines and standards, or limit you; you’re more than a small screen, life is more, relationships are more, you do you, be yourself, yes get inspired, learn, but stop trying to be someone else… 

Thank you all, I know this one is so long, but thanks for taking the time to read and hope to see you again next time, comment your opinions I love to know, and get in touch with you all, love you and till next time stay safe, smile and never give up your life and dreams… XO XO ❤️❤️