Memoir and Social Media

MEMOIR AND SOCIAL MEDIA 0
Memoir and Social Media
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MEMOIR AND SOCIAL MEDIA 1
The platform of social media has emerged as an indispensible part of the lives of the
individuals where they are not only being able to communicate with a wide range of people
from the different parts of the world but at the same time it provides them with a platform
where the individuals can reduce the loneliness which is the bane of the modern society
(Cardell, Douglas & Maguire, 2017). Thus, the present generation is increasingly turning
towards the various platforms of social media for their day to day activities (Freitas, 2017).
Gone are the days when the individuals used to write memoirs and as a matter of fact the
social media websites like Facebook, Twitter and others have become the place where the
unintentional memoirs of the individuals can be found (Sales, 2016). This essay will argue
about the fact that social media is not an appropriate place for memoir writing in the light of
Dani Shapiro’s article “A Memoir is not a Status Update”.
Shapiro in his article says that “It is only with distance that we are able to turn our
powers of observation on ourselves, thus fashioning stories in which we are characters”
(Shapiro et al., 2018). It is generally seen that social media provides the individuals with a
platform where they can not only interact with the other individuals but at the same time get
to know about the things which are happening in their lives (Cardell, Douglas & Maguire,
2017). Thus, it is generally seen that admist the plethora of the numerous status updates as
well as news feeds and the urge to lead a life which is appreciated as well as envied by the
other people, the individual concerned often loses track of his or her own real identity in the
desire to create a virtual identity. Therefore, it is often seen that the individuals with the