Here is the question,
What do you lose by not posting that wad of cash, the new wristwatch, your new car, new bag, your fabulous new boo, or whatever it is that you’re enjoying now on social media?
There is a Yoruba adage that roughly translates to; If your harvested yams are big, you cover them with your hands as much as you can, for those who can read Yoruba, here it is “Bi isu eni ba ta, a fi owo bo ni”.
This has always been my motto, because I found out that flaunting of wealth isn’t my thing maybe its because I don’t have anything to be shown to the world via social media. I believe if you’ve got something really precious to you, you should hide it from the world not because you ain’t proud of it but because you would rather keep it private. The world is immensely filled with “haters”.
Albert Eistein once said, “two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe”, he should have added haters to that list because they’re everywhere.
Which is why I believe in censoring most of my personal information on the internet, whatever you have, some people don’t have it or haven’t even entertained the idea of owning it. So, when they see such, they just use the opportunity to lynch you, especially from people you don’t even know.
This has happened to mostly celebs, and there is the new thing which is to clapback, i.e reply with harsh comments as well.
From what I have seen on Nigerian twitter/Linda Ikeji comment section, people have bad mouth and you wonder how vile people’s tongues can be against others.
I have a friend who has updated us all on how his life is flashy, from pictures of his cars, to wristwatches and every other thing he feels the world should know and I have tried to have the conversation about not showing the whole world what you have because many of them don’t even want you to have it in the first place.
I have another who will say its the fake one he bought while all evidences point at him been wrong about the authenticity, the same guy will tell you that he got a Rolls Royce in a very good deal, like 75% off and he has lied about that too. He owns a Tesla abroad, he has said it was given to him by his company, but we know it is his, which company gives you and your wife a Tesla car each?
I’m not against posting special occasions, like your marriage proposal, wedding pictures, your new child. The truth is when you rock these your expensive possessions to events or anywhere, people who recognize these things will appreciate your taste. The announcement to everyone about your new possession is kinda immature to me, my own humble opinion.
You don’t need anyone’s approval to live your life as you want, so why show it to all and not just the most important people in your life? What satisfaction is even derived from posting your personal stuff on social media, likes and retweets? That’s all. Because of likes and retweet is why you would give people access to your privacy, so someone can you “You go girl!” ?!
There is another bandwagon of people in relationships with 1001 pictures, Jesus Christ, protector of everything good and holy, save me from these bae and boo pictures! (Now, even I sound like a hater!)
I’m indeed happy for you but yall aint as happy as you portray in those pictures and because of those your made-up pictures, some ladies are going to break up with their boyfriends whose relationship in “real life” is way better and more healthy than yours.
I have seen enough memes that advises people in relationship not to use Instagram couple pictures to judge how happy those “models” are compared to your relationship, which is true. Another bummer is what happens when you break things up with him. You start to delete the 1001 pictures you’ve spent over 3 years posting, it won’t be a fun exercise I can assure you.
For example, look at the bag issue, it was a simple case of I finally got the bags that I have been waiting for, which is harmless. It turned harmful when a nosy follower sent to Hermes to confirm then it turned yam pepper scatter scatter (big trouble for those who don’t get that) where we needed to be informed about how-out-of-our-mind wealthy the bag owner is.
Won’t it have been a lot more peaceful if the image of the bag was sent to friends that they had spoken about the bag before? Be happy in your own state, happiness comes from within not from material possession. You can buy up all of Adeola Odeku and Banana Island and still be sad.
Again, I’m not justifying the bullies or the attackers, I’m just saying people are sad and would love to drag other people into their degenerate pit with them. Don’t make yourself the target by posting these things you feel necessary for everyone to see.
For the attackers, its not right to put people down just because you don’t agree or admire their status. There is a little thing called ignoring and moving on, and that hasn’t killed anyone, just move right along.
For the celebrities clapping back at haters, I personally think it’s the wrong thing to do. For one, you’re in the public eye, I also understand the point where you feel like you’re also human which I certainly agree with but you’re the one who is the celebrity not the negative commenter. He/She is just another person who no one knows, probably trying to get cheap points by been mentioned in blog who pick up the insult.
One of the celebrities I admire in Nigeria is Don Jazzy, dude knows how to diffuse those things that most times it becomes a joke and people laugh and move on.
Although, he also had that thing with Olamide at the Headies, but that’s in the past now. Don Jazzy is still liked and respected despite later revelation showed that he was also not a clean person during the break-up of Mo’hits. The way celebs diffuse these hater comments goes a long way into solidifying your brand, it also makes you more of a better person.
Your brand is your essence, its what people admire about you. For example, banks such as GTBank, Diamond Bank and Zenith Bank have this awesome brand that people just wanna be associated with them. If you don’t have a GTBank account, I’m sure you know like 2 people you know that have it. There are banks that are richer than GTBank but GTB has the brand that everyone loves.
Same goes for Celebs as well, people like you because of who you’re asides from your music or your art, how you rub them off is essential. Some celebs are so warm when you meet them in person, you are wowed by their humility and how unhabited they’re. For instance, Banky W, Olamide, D’banj, Chidinma and so on are really cool.
You’re in the public eye, I post a picture of a Camaro today on my personal account, friends will show love and appreciation, haters will say na drugs/419/armed robbery I dey do, and that’s for me as normal person.
For a celebrity, you’ll have to amplify that by another 500-1000% and that’s because you’re in the public eye, your moves are scrutinised. Once you’ve become popular, your private almost disappears, you’ve sacrificed your privacy for fame. You have to learn to deal with this, replying your fans with the harshest comment from the pit of your disgust just exposes the kind of person you really are, bitter and irascible.
Anyway, those are my 2 cents on this social media show off, if its precious to you, keep it on the down-low, enjoy it in your own privacy, if you have the overbearing need to show the world, be prepared for vile Nigerian tongues, either ways, deal with it.
Thanks
Have a wonderful week ahead
‘Deolu Oniranu
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