If social media has normalised one thing for me, it is the freedom to be unapologetically curious.
I have always had a wide range of interests. My mind rarely stays with one subject for long before wandering off to another. For years, I found it difficult to fit neatly into a single bracket. I enjoyed history, geography, science, music, languages, films and countless other subjects, but I rarely came across people who shared that same breadth of curiosity.
I have also always been more of a reader than a poster. While many people use social media to document their lives, I have used it to explore the world. Over time, it has become an endless collection of rabbit holes, each leading to another question, another story and another world I never knew existed.
One day I learnt that Antarctica does not have its own time zone. Another day it was the history of Sikkim, which immediately took me back to the Dev Anand classic Jewel Thief. Until then, it had never occurred to me that the Sikkim portrayed in the film belonged to a very different political reality. On other days, I wandered into stories about the curious border between the United States and Canada, unusual places to visit in New York and London, the reflections of a mariner that transformed the way I thought about the seas, forgotten episodes from history, and even how Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt’s Mohan Veena added its distinctive voice to some of A. R. Rahman’s compositions. Every answer seemed to lead to another question.
Somewhere along the way, I realised that I am drawn less to information than to inquiry. I enjoy following a question simply because it exists, with no purpose other than the pleasure of understanding.
Social media also revealed something unexpected about me. I had never stopped to think about how eclectic my taste in music really was. I could lose myself in the psychedelic soundscapes of Pink Floyd, the hard hitting rap of the South Korean group BTS, the haunting chants of Tibetan Buddhist monks, the evocative music of Native American traditions, the powerful vocals of Lady Gaga, the mellifluous melodies of Hemant Kumar or the ethereal sound of Enigma. It surprised me to realise that my musical world recognised neither linguistic nor cultural boundaries. It simply responded to whatever moved me.
More importantly, social media helped me find my kindred spirits. I discovered people who were just as fascinated by maps, obscure historical facts, musical instruments, hidden corners of cities, scientific oddities and countless other seemingly random subjects as I was. Suddenly, curiosity did not feel lonely. It felt shared.
Of course, social media is no substitute for reliable sources. Much of what appears online deserves to be questioned and verified. Yet, despite its many shortcomings, it has done something rather wonderful. It has made curiosity feel ordinary. It has made it perfectly acceptable to be enthusiastic about subjects that others might dismiss as trivial.
It has enriched my life in quieter ways too. At the end of a particularly stressful day, it is often those delightfully ridiculous reels that make me laugh and remind me not to take life quite so seriously. Sometimes, that is exactly the reset I need.
As a teacher, social media has also helped me connect with my students in ways I had never anticipated. Picking up the occasional piece of Gen Z slang, recognising the influencers they follow or understanding the cultural references they casually make has made conversations with them far more natural. It has never been about trying to cultivate a cool persona. It has simply been my way of telling them, “I understand your world.” More often than not, I genuinely do understand it far better than I did before. That understanding has made me a more empathetic teacher, a better listener and, I hope, someone my students feel comfortable talking to.
It has also been a humbling experience. I realised that I am not nearly as unique as I once imagined. There are countless people across the world who share the same delight in asking questions, making unexpected connections and discovering something new every day. Social media has introduced me to remarkably talented writers, artists, musicians, teachers, photographers and storytellers whose work I might never have encountered otherwise. Many may never receive the opportunities they deserve, but they have found a platform where their voices can be heard.
For all the criticism it rightly attracts, that is what social media has normalized for me. Not posting, but wondering. Not simply collecting information, but delighting in discovery. Most of all, it has shown me that curiosity is not a solitary pursuit. There are kindred spirits everywhere, waiting at the end of yet another rabbit hole.
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