Do you see the HOLLYWOOD sign? #notsopictureperfect
You’ve seen it. You’ve probably even done it. A happy Facebook post with a happy photo attached. You know, the perfect family shot. Everyone is happy and smiling and completely adoring one another. Or, the perfect couple shot. Kissing. Looking in each other’s eyes. Smiling, totally happy, a match made in heaven. Or, the siblings, oh so sweet, playing together so nicely! Or the gloating mother over her new baby. The kindergarten graduation. The happy birthday boy. Talent show winner. Prom King. All-American this or that….. The new house, the new car, the new hat…….whatever. Facebook. You love her and you hate her. She shows us all of the good stuff. None of the bad. She does not show us what is Real. Real includes the bad with the good. Viewing only the good stuff leaves us feeling as if something is seriously missing from our lives. Facebook presents the facade that everything is perfect. And then, even when it’s not, we’ll just all agree to pose for a happy picture, anyway, and pretend it’s all good.
The problem with Facebook, is that it only tells a sliver of the story. Behind every happy photo there is a story that is not “all good.” No, I’m not just talking doom and gloom. I’m talking reality. In this world, we will have trouble. There are no perfect days. No perfect families. No perfect marriages, babies, cars, or even cats!
I think there should be a thing called the Facebook blues. (Is it a thing?) (Yes, it is a thing; go here to check it out: www.cnn.com/2013/08/15/tech/social-media/study-facebook-blues/
I hear people talk about taking a break from social media. Sometimes I think it’s because it’s a time sucker. It sneaks hours out of us when we only meant to give it minutes. Other times, I think people distance themselves from Facebook because she is a fair-weather friend. She shows us only the happy highlight-worthy moments of our friends’ life, and we are left wondering what in the world is wrong with us?
Why doesn’t our kitchen look like her Pinterest kitchen? Why doesn’t my kid say all of those cute things? Why do they get to go to Hawaii and we don’t? Why does her husband always post selfies of them on dates or kissing (gag me!)? The list goes on and on, adding more and more angst to our day, and we only meant to peek for a minute.
Maybe we ought to re-evaluate what we post on Facebook? Maybe we could share a little more real, a little more true, a little more “not-so-picture-perfect?”
You go first. I dare ya!
If you take my challenge and start posting the good, the bad and the ugly, please use the hashtag #notsopictureperfect
[suffusion-the-author]
[suffusion-the-author display='description']
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.