Samir Soni on taking social media break: It doesn’t seem real anymore

The actor announced his exit from Instagram through a picture, captioned, “Good luck, you fine young people, it’s au revoir from Uncle Sam.”

As we deal with toxicity on social media and increased screen time, going on a digital detox seems like a good idea. And actor Samir Soni agrees. He recently announced his exit from Instagram through a picture, captioned, “Good luck, you fine young people, it’s au revoir from Uncle Sam.” The text on his photo read, “The more Instagram posts I see, the more I feel like a dinosaur on the verge of extinction.”

Keeping up with social media is a pressure in itself, feels Soni

On why he addressed himself as a dinosaur, the actor says, “I’m kinda old for this. These platforms are for the young audience, who are constantly creating content to engage viewers. It doesn’t seem real to me anymore.”

Keeping up with social media is a pressure in itself, feels Soni. “There’s a need to continuously showcase your life out there — everyone’s exercising, dancing, taking up challenges. It makes one believe one is so happy, lovely and smiling all the time. I think it’s peer pressure, as one person is doing it and the next person follows. Initially, it was fun to watch but now it feels like there’s a competition, which can be harmful, as you start to question yourself,” he points out.

And it doesn’t “feel right” to the 52-year-old that a “personal platform” is used like television to bag endorsements and commercials. “It seems frivolous. It’s kind of becoming a game. The more engaging your content is the more viewers and more followers you have. And it is proportional to the money you’ll make,” he adds.

However, Soni’s approach to trolls is interesting. He shares, “I like to interact with them. When I post an opinion on an issue, I get bombarded with views from followers who feel otherwise. So, I try to engage and reason with them, but ultimately I have realised emotions will overrule reason. So then, I feel it’s my page, my views, you’re free to unfollow.”