Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Fakebook: How are we portraying ourselves on Social Media?

We live in a social media driven world.  Recently, I read a blog that compared spending time on Facebook to viewing Pornography.  One of the ways this author compares Facebook to Porn is Envy.  We see something on a status and we want to have it. He writes, "The more you look at it the more you want it.
The more you look at it the more you realize you can’t have it. The more you realize you can’t have it the more hopeless you become."

This really got me thinking about how we portray ourselves.  It is hard not to envy someone who is posting about their concert experience, five star restaurant meal or trip to Disney World. The vast majority of the time we don't know what is really going on behind the camera lens.  Behind the perfect family photo, we don't see the couple on the brink of divorce.  Behind the picture of the four course dinner, we don't see the text message that says a dear family member has cancer. I know these exact scenarios may not be played out in every picture. The point is there are things going on behind the lens we don't know anything about.

Last weekend, I went with my daughter on a school trip to the Mavs game.  She earned the trip for being one of the top readers in her class.  We were able to share an incredible experience together.  Going to a NBA game, especially a Mavs game, is one of my all-time favorite things to do and sharing it with my daughter made it extra special.  I posted a picture on my Instagram, tweeted about the game and because my social networks are connected together, it all posted on Facebook.  From the outside looking in, it looked like an incredible night and it was with a few exceptions.

What you didn't see.....

  1. You didn't see I was taking Antibiotics because I had been to the Doctor that morning with a Sore Throat.  Honestly, I didn't feel at all like being there. After driving home Saturday, I spent the rest of the day in bed miserable.
  2. You didn't see I was sitting in the "nose bleeds" (aka upper deck) surrounded by some very excited 5th Grade students who loved the noise makers left on the seats by the Dallas Mavericks organization.  They loved them so much that they used them the entire game even during free throws when you are supposed to be quiet.  :)  It was their trip and they were having a blast.  
  3. You didn't see the guy two rows back who obnoxiously yelled at the players, coaches and refs the entire game like they were sitting in the row in front of him.  He even had cute little nicknames for every player and yelled them constantly.  
Am I telling you these things to make you feel sorry for me? No...please don't...I got to have an incredible experience with my daughter that I would live again ...under the same conditions....if given the option. It was a memorable experience that we will both cherish for a long time. 

I'm putting this out there as an example that what we see is not always reality.  We take the perfect picture, put the perfect filter on it and write the perfect caption and hashtag.  

This post is not about trying to get you to quit posting your vacation pictures or telling the world about the prize you won.  It is a warning against envy and to let you know that not everything you see in a picture is reality. I like to keep my status updates and tweets positive. Well, occasionally there is a sports opinion that gets negative. :) I'm working on that.  My posts about life will stay positive.  I'm not going to rip the clerk that gave me a dirty look. I'm not going to announce on social media that I've had a "disagreement" with my wife or had to punish my kids. That does no one any good.  Just know, Rusty, Sasha, Mady and Kenzie are normal. We are not perfect, but are striving to be more like Jesus every day.  Some days we hit the mark better than others. Some days when we are not hitting the mark that great....we still manage to take the perfect picture.  :)