18 Ways MySpace Has Affected Our Modern Day Lives That We Don't Even Realize
MySpace was basically at the forefront of social media development for many years. It may not have survived in the long run, but it definitely paved the way for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We spent the better days of our middle school lives, trolling the Internet for that perfect background code, perfect song and perfect top 8.
It taught us the basics of social media and the harsh truth of revealing too much, too soon. Where would we be without MySpace? The answer: nowhere.
How has MySpace changed our lives in ways we weren't even aware of? Check it out...
1. The rapidly changing social media frontier
MySpace was there and then it wasn't (in its original form at least). Then it was Facebook, then it was Twitter, Instagram and Vine. As technology further advances, so does the changing nature of social media platforms.
2. Social media fame resulting in actual fame
With the prevalence of social media, it's no surprise that this can actually lead to fame. Tila Tequila was MySpace's contribution to reality television and one we wish we could return to Tom.
Today, Jen Selter has taken her fame from Instagram into the real world with guest appearances on various talk shows, as well as signing multiple endorsements.
3. Living your life through music
Every MySpace page came equipped with a theme song of your choosing. This started the social aspect of sharing of music in a way we never saw before.
Today we have Spotify, a program through which you can create group playlists that your friends can listen to and they, in turn, can create soundtracks to their daily lives that you can tune into.
4. Coding
Maybe you didn't realize it when you were changing your background to sport your favorite athletic team or celebrity crush, but you were actually coding.
5. The 'Top 8' exclusivity of group chats
You may be thinking: What does MySpace have to do with group chats? But if you really think about it, just like your Top 8, it's all about picking and choosing who made the cut and who didn't.
6. The realization that Internet friends aren't actually your friends
Just because someone follows you on social media and "likes" your posts does not mean that person is your actual friend.
MySpace was at the forefront of this discovery since you basically only had strangers commenting and liking your photos and posts.
7. Selfies
Selfies basically first appeared on MySpace in the form of a mirror picture. You perfected your "angles" and figured out exactly how to contort your body into misleading photographs that brought in the likes. It sounds exactly like the selfie of 2014, doesn't it?
8. The importance of blocking your parents on social media
The only time I was ever grounded in my life was when my parents figured out how to access my MySpace account. That taught me a valuable lesson... and how to fix my security settings.
9. Mark Zuckerberg as the new "Tom"
Tom was the OG of social media. He basically inspired Mark Zuckerberg to be the man he is today.
10. Private messaging
Private messages on MySpace basically inspired Facebook chat, direct messaging on Twitter and now even private messages via Instagram. If you don't see the correlation, well you just aren't looking hard enough.
11. The joy of (and dependence on) notifications
We got our first taste of notifications during the MySpace era and we haven't looked back since.
We thrive on little red notification alerts on Facebook, we watch our locked iPhones for pop up notices and we refresh our Twitter followers list to see if it has expanded.
12. Making pure narcissism socially acceptable
MySpace was a self-indulgent platform that bred life to other narcissistic developments. Instagram is basically just a place where people make you feel good about yourself by liking your pictures even if they have never met you in the first place. Something isn't right here, is it?
13. Making emo music a form of therapy/modern psychology
There's no pain or heartbreak that a good Death Cab For Cutie song can't cure. I mean, wasn't "Soul Meets Body" a healthy substitute for Xanax?
14. Bangs
Especially side bangs. I'm not saying you had to have an emo black and white shot with a lip ring and side bangs to be popular on MySpace... but that's exactly what I'm saying.
Would we even consider bangs before seeing hundreds of others dare to make the transition?
15. Cyber stalking
MySpace created the trend of cyber stalking and that is a fact. It was the first time we were able to look up information about people we weren't directly connected with. Since MySpace, we have taken our creeping to a whole new, scary level.
16. Behind the screen balls
Commenting was a concept first introduced through MySpace. You were able to voice your opinion behind your screen without fear of being physically threatened since you were states away from the people's posts you were attacking. You had the balls to do so because of the monitor that separated the two of you.
17. Catfishing
MySpace: The place where sexual predators were born. With online profiles, you can literally be anyone you want to be and no one would know otherwise.
Everyone knows what happened to Manti Te’o, you can thank MySpace for that one.
18. Emojis
The first time we really engaged with emojis was definitely on our MySpace profiles. We used codes to create hearts (♥) and all the other faces to express how "emo" we were feeling at any given moment.
Facebook has gone so far as to create "stickers" and now there are even emoji keyboards on our iPhones!
Photo Courtesy: My Space
