Although I find it slightly stressful to read articles in doctor's office magazines - since you have no idea when your name will be called - I did. On this particular visit, I came across a short piece about lessening the stress in your life and one of the tactics was to take a break from social media. Apparently, there is a social phenomenon casually entitled, "Facebook Depression." After a brief Google search, I realized this "condition" is attributed mostly to teens and young adults. However, the bulletpoint in this particular article addressed a more general population.
I thought it was pretty silly at first. I am old enough to still doubt most of what I find on the internet. However, there is some merit to the point made. We tend to limit our Facebook and Twitter and blog posts to snippets of information that is flattering to us...things that make our lives seem exciting or blissful or beautifully choreographed. Sure, I have friends who are delightfully honest. They post about the nitty gritty reality of life - sometimes even including photos. (TMI? Maybe.) We compare OUR lives and everything in them - the good, bad & ugly (and most of us dwell on the latter two) - to the lives of others seen only through pretty little online posts. We KNOW, intellectually, that the lives of our "friends" - both real and virtual - are not perfect, but, what we see (read) is what we believe. Heck, I have friends who have the uncanny abililty to make the craziness of their lives appear enviable. (*Sorry if I have done this...you are certainly welcome to drop in ANY time and disprove that myth!) There was a time, about a year ago, when I posted a picture of some silly craft I made for Christmas. Most people commented on the relative "cuteness" of the project, but one close friend boldly said she could not get over how clean my wood floors were in the photo. Well, TRUTH BE TOLD the photo lied! Yes, the floors appeared clean - but, anyone here in person would know they were neglected. So... My lighthearted attempt to counter this phenomenon - whether is it real or only perceived - is to start: Terribly, Terrifically, TRUTHFUL Tuesdays! Today is only Wednesday, so we have the better part of a week to think about this. The idea is to post at least one humble, human post every Tuesday. This might sound easy - but - if you choose to participate, please be careful not to be too hard on yourself. We just want to be HUMAN...truthful, real - not self-degrading. On the other hand, beware of swinging in the other direction and glamorizing your imperfections. (If you are not, right now, thinking to yourself: "The heck with this idea. I cannot win for losing. Please read on!) No fair posting things like: "Oh, woe is me...I am too thin." <smile> And please...save the confessions about illegal or immoral issues for the priest - or police! This exercise will probably prove to be more challenging than we might think - BUT - I believe we can encourage each other if we try hard to just be real. Let's resist the temptation to make our lives appear to be academy award winning scripts complete with scores of beautiful background music all through single sentence posts read by people we know...and some we don't!
1 Comment
Jenifer
12/21/2011 12:08:45 pm
Lori,
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