Living in the modern world: the effect on social media on the construct of the self

The morning brings a new day, a new dilemma, a new post.
Posting the feeling of existential dread to the clicks of uproarious applause and irrelevant memes in the comments, the numb sets inside. The newsfeed is full of knee-jerk reactions to knee-jerk reactions to nothing and everything.
“Where do we draw the line,” shouts the conservative.
“Where do we draw the line,” responds the liberal.
It’s just cathartic nothing to the abyss of social media: a new way to monitor and feed advertisements to the hungry.
A motivational post claiming that the key to self-worth lies in accepting yourself for who you are. Complacency is the way to happiness after all.
Memes, political conspiracies, pictures of pretentious food being eaten by the milquetoast: on and on it goes. A never-ending cesspool of escapism and lies. Narcissism masquerading as sincerity. Millions of people shout, “Look at me. I’m important,” with every non-existent picture, quote or “unique” take on a moot issue.
Pictures filled with product placement rivaling “Space Jam.” The new iPhone clear in the mirror, expensive headphones draped on the shoulders and hair manipulated hundreds of times to get the perfect nonchalant pose, though they say, “Felt cute. Might delete later.”
We’re all cultivating brands. The jock with their Under Armour athletic shirt and Nike running shoes using Colin Kaepernick’s brand to feed their own. The hipster with their craft beers from local breweries and expensive clothing meant to bring attention to the world crises we all know about. The outsider on the fringe screams maudlin phrases upon deaf ears. This column is itself branding the writer as outside the system, though we all know there is no one outside the system. The system placates the disillusioned by providing the comfort of free speech, yet keeping them embroiled in its mechanics.
There is no escape from the monster we created.
Welcome to the machine.