When I grew up, social media and Internet presence didn't feel so mandatory, so I didn't feel an incentive to produce, or to make and share stuff on the Internet, getting a following etc... And now I see so many people with a widely validated existence, it just makes me jealous. I feel like I'm late onto the social media thing and the rest of my generation, while also pushing it away as I don't really know if I actually WANT what they have, that is a very uneasy place to be in ngl...

Of course, the self guilt doesn't help either; If this Internet validation is just an illusion of worth, why am I giving it so much importance? Am I part of the problem for being impacted by those who (Actively?) present wide validation as the proof of a person's right to exist?

Not being known or popular isn't an issue, but over time, it looks like people mistake it for actual value more and more, and that personally really impacts me. Maybe I'm being an early boomer, idk... Am I the only one who feels this way?