Share the Love – and then some
Has social media left us divulging more than a smile?
The other day I had a sensational breakfast.
Just letting you know.
Because, well unlike the vast majority of the table, I failed to whip out my phone and instagram the ‘shit’ out of my meal and post it in array of colours for every other poor friend in our social circle to get a massive sense of FOMO (fear of missing out)
Despite claims of ‘best breakfast eva’, I would like to point out that we cued for forty minutes for our table, my eggs were served with a side of attitude and the moustache baring hipster who delivered them was none too impressed when I politely pointed out that my black tea was a shade of green that needed to be rectified.
This was in addition to one friend bursting into tears over her future job prospects. But above and beyond that, it was ‘the best breakfast eva’ – according to my social media status.
Thank god we only took pictures of the food otherwise we would have monopolised the table for hours, trying to accentuate the best angle of our faces and ensure all party holders were satisfied with the shots before we hit send.
As I don’t want to name and blame the aforementioned institution, feel free to look me up on Facebook, no doubt someone ‘checked me in’. Was it the latest hang for the cool kids? Oh yeah.
So we get pissed off when magazines, fiddle with photos of seemingly already skinny models. But aren’t we also masters of our own wonderful edifice, when we turn the plane old ordinary into the blatant extraordinary?
A new wave of social anxiety arises before us, as we face the pressure that anytime, in any location we should primp and prime our photos to be oohed and ahhed at by the legions of fans and followers we have in the social media world.
Just turn up to any event and you will see thousands of hands in pockets, nervously clutching their smart phones or yielding them haphazardly in front of faces to ensure that any moment is captured and heralded to the world. Add to this an extravagant by-line to ensure the mediocre setting becomes beyond amazing and you have a recipe for social inadequacy.
What gives?
When did knowing what everyone was doing, become more important than actually doing something? Is it more important to look like you are having fun, rather than just being in the moment?
Constantly posting feel good moments only seems to create a perfect false reality. Never ending pay rises, blissful weekends filled with friends and laughter and a ton of desserts eaten at whim without putting on a dime of weight. (Jealous right?)
What happens when something shit happens?
Truth is – we don’t know what is going on with someone close to us, if we are relying on their posts to keep up to date.
So, next time you are at a boring cross road – post it – don’t hide it. Smile like you mean it. And if this means divulging your weekend of arguments and house cleaning. Wear it with pride!
That way when something good happens – everyone will be jealous! 😉
