Plato's Allegory Of The Cave: Social Media

Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’ presents the theory that every individual goes through a ‘cave’ in life, and eventually becomes enlightened. In the cave described by Plato, prisoners are powerless and chained to the wall. The prisoners are missing out on all the things happening behind them, like the fire and the puppets. What they can see and hear are shadows and echoes. When the prisoners tried to get out of the cave, they couldn’t face the real world; they had mistaken appearance for reality. Like the prisoners in the Allegory, my cave was social media. Eliminating social media enlightened me to become mentally and physically healthier, a happier person, and a socially confident speaker.
Deleting social media has made me stronger in mental …show more content…
However, deleting social media has made me a happy soul After the prisoners left the cave, they were not as depressed anymore. Like myself, the prisoners left the cave and the other prisoners behind to become a happier person. Comparing yourself to another while on social media can be discouraging. No one likes comparing themselves to others, but people do it to themselves all the time. They wish they were someone else they see on social media, however, what they don’t know is that person’s life behind the screen. Thinking ‘I wish I was her’ or ‘I wish my life was that good’ caused me to be jealous of others’ lives and ungrateful of my own. I had a serious lack of self-esteem and confidence. Thoughts such as ‘I’m not as pretty as her’ or ‘I’ll never be as smart as her’ were always in my mind. I always wanted to have a life like someone Instagram famous. Like the prisnors in the cave, they realized that what they saw in the cave was not reality. I realized that what I see on Instagram is only people’s online life. They may not be who they say they are online. Now that I have decided to live my own life and not look at others, I am much happier. After this happened, I immediately felt my confidence and self-esteem rise. I no longer felt ‘not good enough’ or ‘ugly’. The only thing I want to achieve is being myself because that is what …show more content…
With all the technology we have access to, delivering a message to someone you do not personally know can be simply done behind a screen. It is not something considered nerve wrecking since it is not done face to face. Nevertheless, because I don’t have social media, I am not able to do that. I need to confront the person, face to face. Although I am a very ongoing person, it can be scary at first due to the fact that I was not used to it. Usually, in this generation, friendships start from one text. However, real-life conversations are far different. You can clearly see what the persons’ feelings are, instead of reading a mixture of emojis. The prisoners in the ‘Allegory of the Cave’ have only dealt with people surrounding them in the cave. Due to that, they probably weren’t great at meeting new people once they became enlightened. The quote “Conversations stop violence, conversations start countries, and build bridges” (Wilson, Theo) comes from one of my favorite TED Talk speakers. It precisely explains how important conversations are, whether it's with a 95-year-old man or a 4-year-old. Not that someone will immediately start a country after a conversation, but it is still vital to know how to have a face to face conversation with people. I have enhanced my speaking skills with people, due to the fact that I am not dependent on a text an emoji to speak up or express