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Saunya M. Williams, Ph.D.

Social Status

I define the bondage of Social Status as when a person allows their personal value to be held hostage to societal standards and praise. The praise from others is what some people use to appease their feelings of insecurity and inadequacy. I have witnessed how far some people will go to falsify details about themselves in an attempt to be more attractive and obtain more applause. With the advent of certain applications, there are people that depend on their number of “friends” or “followers” to stimulate self-esteem. The convenience of technology has given way for people to use social media, and the amount of “likes” that are received to try to boost their own prominence. Furthermore, several people seem to enjoy living their lives through the channels of social media and welcome the intrusive nature in an effort to gain attention.

Personally, I am a fan of social media because it provides an opportunity to reach those that would normally be unreachable and to communicate with the entire world. The popularity and technological evolution of social media has enabled pervasive use within our local and global societies. Equally, I also recognize that the use of social media can be harmful when malice is the intent. That is why I believe that we should all be cautious and particular about whom we call friend. Indeed, there is a difference between an acquaintance and a friend. How do you determine who gets added to the contact list of your social network? Are you motivated by the people that just know your name or by the people that actually seek to know you personally?

As a young girl, all I could do was try to look beautiful and present myself as normal because I did not feel normal at all. In fact, I felt damaged, contaminated, and utterly destroyed because I was left alone to deal with the battle of being abused. I excelled academically, yet my stepfather told me that I was stupid and would never amount to anything. I was a virgin, yet he called me a whore. I was a child, yet he wanted me to perform the sexual acts of an adult. I was defenseless, yet he kept putting me in situations that required me to fight. I was innocent, yet he caused me to feel like I was sentenced to a lifetime of guilt.

I despised the things that my stepfather used to say to me, and the fact that I would feel like I was clothed in dirt. Being