Anxiety, The Feeling of Loneliness, YouTube

Hey guys!

I recently saw a video by Kian Lawley which you can check out here and it really reminded me that despite the fact that YouTubers may have a ton of subscribers doesn't mean that they're as comfortable with people as they may appear to be on camera or around their friends.

I don't personally suffer from anxiety but I can relate to the feeling where you feel like other people are only putting up with you and that you're actually quite alone when you're with your friends. This used to happen quite often over the summer break when I'd see my friends a lot less often and I'd go back to school completely afraid and half convinced that I'd imagined that they'd liked me and that I'd actually end up with no friends and completely alone. Thank God it always feels like we're better friends at the beginning of the year than at the end. For me, somehow, on a side note, losing a friend has actually made me a ton closer to my other friends so losing a best friend out of two was actually a blessing in disguise.

Back to the point, I think a lot of the time it can really help us help each other if we listen to each other without phones or other distractions in front of us and spend quality time with one another. The fact that the presence of mobile devices at social gatherings has become a norm is worrying and I feel like it's one way in which we can give the impression to our closest friends that they aren't worth our full attention when in reality, we don't feel that way at all.

In Kian's video, he talks about how telling his mum about his anxiety and the fact it was a problem was probably the best thing he did and it really made him feel so much better about it because he felt listened to and cared of. In that way we can see that if we really care about those around us, they deserve to feel it and to feel like we're always given them our undivided attention because sometimes, despite the fact having lots of followers on a social media account can feel like we're popular and we have friends, the reality can be the opposite.

What I loved about Kian's video was the fact that he disproved this statement and I think it's a testament to the nature of YouTube and the fact that he hasn't accumulated an awesome 1.8 million subscribers from nothing. For him, knowing that there are people who can understand and connect with his videos makes him feel like they're less alone as well as the same for him and it made me happy knowing that social media is great for people who feel alone sometimes though my personal opinion is when you're face to face with someone, social media shouldn't play a part in the face to face time that you have, if you see what I'm saying.

I hope that you guys enjoyed this post! I feel like it was a bit more of a roundabout post in comparison to other posts because I made a ton of more varied points but as always, leave your thoughts in the comments and I hope to speak to you soon!