Managing a Public Profile

 Managing a Public Profile:

Yesterday a classmate shared a news story that recently went viral on social media. A young medical student from our medical school is at the center of the controversy. In the video clip that surfaced she was seen trolling the college and its professors and making other derogatory remarks in the name of stand up comedy. 

Incidentally this being a centenary year for the institution there was a great uproar by those who take pride in the institution. 

The girl has since recorded another video to issue a formal apology for her comments. In that video she says she was naive and it was her first ever attempt at stand up comedy and she didn’t realize the impact expressing thoughts publicly can have. 

Well, the incident as well as the comments that are seen on her apology post are certainly thought provoking. There are a lot of issues that this opens a discussion about. 

The maturity of thought before sharing on social media.

The trolling that ensues and should be taken into consideration before posting.

The legal consequences.

Personal, social and professional consequences.

Privacy issues.

What is your goal for posting?

What is the price you will be paying for it?

And the million dollar question: 

Are you fully prepared for it?

The issue of having a social media account and profile had concerned me for a long time. Ever since I began to post on saree groups and my personal pages and even on my blog, there remained a discomfort lurking in the mind. 

Am I making myself too visible to the world?

Do I want to be visible? 

Today is probably the first time I am actually addressing this question in full awareness to myself. 

The answer is that I have nothing against being seen but I do not really want to be visible. I am not used to being visible. 

When I think about it today, there is an advantage to being visible and also to being invisible. 

When you have guests arriving home, you tend to tidy up the place. The same applies when you’re visible to the world. You pay attention to what you say and what you do. What you say brings reactions from people who may or may not know you well. And that can be a good thing if it makes you examine your thoughts. 

But if you are constantly going to open your mouth and blabber things that you haven’t thought over deeply, expect to be thrashed by just about anyone. Social media essentially has a lot of people with a lot of time on their hands to teach you lessons, irrespective of whether they have the necessary qualifications. Today I even saw someone say it was foolish to follow Ramana Maharishi as an idol and declared his path as confused and dark! A visually impaired person calling out the person helping him cross the road as blind is not unusual to find on social media!

Fewer words, words coming from experience and deep conviction are much better than senseless blabber. All the noise pollution on social media is because there is no price upfront for talking. Yet some people like this young medical student find out that there is a price after all. 

Much restraint and caution are necessary wherever you step out. Even more than when you physically travel. People learn to take care of their wallets and passports when traveling. But they don’t realize the dangers of losing their money and identification information is much worse in the virtual space. 

If you are going to choose to have a presence on social media, ask yourself, why you want to be there.

How much time you want to spend there. The space may be virtual but time is very much real and comes out of your fixed quota of 24 hours. 

Find out if it’s worth your time.

If you choose to be on there, are you mentally prepared to face all possible consequences and challenges, including losing your privacy? Are you ready to tackle or ignore bullies? Are you prepared for being corrected, sometimes in a rough manner? Are you ready to be misunderstood and attacked? 

Are you ready to handled a damaged and distorted image of yourself? 

The last one often is the toughest one to handle for the introverts. 

Social media is not for the weak at heart. 

Go in prepared. 

Go in knowing what you are going for and how much you are willing to pay for being there. 

Go in after doing the math whether what you intend to gain from there or share from that window would be found or shared in a better space and for more worth. 

If you are going to opt out of having a presence on social media, ask why.

Is fear the reason for retreating ?

Or is it wisdom?

The reason is as important as the choice you make. 

Choose peace that comes from understanding yourself and your surroundings rather than peace that comes from shutting all doors and windows.

Choose both caution and courage. They do not cancel each other.

Choose growth over contraction.

Choose being tough to take on viciousness without becoming vicious yourself.

Choose listening over lecturing.

Choose thinking over speaking.

In the midst of all chaos in life, make time for silence. Suspend not just speaking or listening in that precious time but also thinking. Experience true silence. 

At the end of all this consideration, I find myself still not sorted out about the extent of presence to maintain on social media or even on this blog. Less seems more. 

The aim is to minimize thought. Instead I see thought flowering each day.  Not sure how to curb thought. 

June 13,2026