A Quest For Self-Importance

To be true, my desire for self-importance has taught me some harsh lessons over the years. But I still hold on to a ray of hope, although I’m unsure where it lies. I used to share my thoughts in magazines. It was before social media and online writing blogs became popular. Then visionary entrepreneurs saw huge potential in the self-importance market. They jumped into the arena to capture the minds of starving self-importance seekers.

People welcomed Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and WhatsApp unconditionally. They were unduly excited as their dreams had come true. No sooner did they breathe than I joined them.

I opened my Facebook account. I boasted about my inactive 400 followers. My posts generally got 10–15 likes and some comments. I noticed images enticed more likes than thoughts. It made me see that people were too busy. They were scrolling through hundreds of posts. They were wishing to hit their target. They had no time to read a thought. I forgive them because I am one of them. I was disappointed that I could not find many on Facebook to support my phobia. I deactivated my Facebook account with a prior announcement two years ago. I anticipated to see someone say “miss you”. But, nobody responded or asked me to stay. Why? I didn’t know. They had grown tired of me.

I still have a Twitter account with about 1600 followers. I occasionally use Instagram. I hardly receive any likes or comments when posting links to my Medium stories on Twitter. Even on WhatsApp where a community of people I know, my pursuit of appreciation fails. Rarely does anyone comment there when I post links to my Medium stories. I salute my insatiable passion for self-recognition. I recognize that I suffer from severe confirmation bias.

Seeking self-importance has become an inherent habit. But alas, the pursuit is as vague as trying to catch a cloud with a butterfly net. So what? Whatever it is, it’s fun to watch. Some people go to any extent to promote their importance. Here I will regale you with some satirical humor.

I begin with the most popular tool for becoming popular the most demanding, and having been declared unavoidable with no logic, the great social media. It’s a virtual arena where self-pride is a champion athlete and self-importance an acrobat. Here, one can see people crafting and polishing their online personas. They select the best image. They write attention-grabbing posts laced with senseless wisdom with an innocent desire to get likes and appreciation. A filtered selfie wisely conveys “I am important.”

Humblebrag

Then there’s the humblebrag. It’s a pure creative skill.

In it, one boasts about their accomplishments while pretending to be modest. “Ugh, I have to go to Paris again for another business trip,” they expressed discontent. They pretend that frequent travel to exotic places inconveniences them.

But, none of us can sympathize with such a burden. We all guess the target intent.

Building Network

What to say about professional networking. There, the quest for self-importance knows no bounds. Here, guys engage in naked self-promotion disguised as “creating relationships” and “building a chain of networking.” They hand out business cards like confetti at a parade. They leave no stone unturned to impress anyone who will give them the time of day. They aim to go up the coveted success ladder.

Wellness and Self-Improvement on Sale

It amazes none of us these days, the stormy claims of wellness and self-improvement. Ah yes, here we find a feast of self-important shenanigans. Instagram influencers sell iffy detox teas. Self-proclaimed gurus offer life-changing seminars. But, they’re not cheap. They want your firstborn child. There’s no lack of snake oil salesmen preying on the insecurities of the masses.

Celebrity Worship

I miserably fail to understand how celebrity worship helps the quest for self-importance! Every day a crowd of regular people proclaimed as fans of some actor star or actress star of Bollywood in India wait at the gate for their beloved celebrity to appear on the balcony to wave their hand and give flying kisses. This much is enough to feed the starving fans for a day. Here, fans become devoted followers. They hang on to every word and deed of their chosen idols with a zeal bordering on religion. The key to fulfilment lies in copying the rich and famous. Right?

A Quest Eternal

The quest for self-importance is a cycle of striving and posturing. It is a never-ending cycle that leads nowhere. But hey, at least it makes for some entertaining social commentary, right?

Originally published on Medium.