I know, I keep taking weeks off of my page here. Last weekend being the 4th I was just a bit busy and did not plan ahead before going out of town with my parents for the night. But that's okay. I do this blog for me and I think just moving forward is the most important thing. Today I wanted to talk about social media a bit. I have talked about this topic a bit in the past but I have never dedicated an entire post to it. There is a lot I want to say about this particular topic so I think it is good to just dive right in!
First off I want to make sure I say that this post is not to attack anyone at all. If you are reading this and thinking I am talking about you, I am not. I am strictly talking about the topic as a whole. To be completely honest I was inspired by "White Woman's Instagram" from Bo Burnham's special Inside. Thanks again Nicole for getting me so obsessed with that haha! The song is comical on the surface, and I have more than a few posts of things he mentioned on my own Instagram admittedly, but there is certainly a deeper meaning to the song when you really listen to it. That is what I want to dive into. The way I interpreted the song is that we put up such a superficial façade to the world through social media.
We post pictures of lattes, our big happy milestones, and the new recipe we made for dinner that night. What about the bouts of depression in which we don't wash our hair for days and cry ourselves to sleep. What about the days we are just incredibly non-productive and spent most of it in dirty pajamas on the couch. I personally try to represent all sides of my life when I present myself to the world, especially on this page, but even I leave some things off of the internet. Now that is okay too. The next part of this post I am going to talk about how we do not need to share every last thing about our lives to the world, but I do think it is very misleading to never show any downsides either. Take these big social media influencers for example. Typically they are posting this highly positive posts with a picture that just encompasses their perfect lives, all mixed together with an ad for a detox tea or energy drink. You never seen most of them talking about any sort of negative emotion they might be having. I find that incredibly misleading and dangerous to present to the likely young followers they have. When on social media I think it is incredibly important to remember that the poster is only letting you see exactly what they want to about their life.
What about posting in general? Well I personally have really pulled back on my posting on social media. I am not sure if it is just because I am getting older or what, but just naturally I stopped posting about every little thing. Sure it is nice to share some milestones or brag about my amazing loaf of sourdough I baked a few weeks ago, but I rarely post anymore other than that. There are a ton of people that are on such an opposite end of the spectrum though. I say all this without judgement of course, but I genuinely wonder why some people truly feel the need to post every last thing about their lives. Life is so much more fulfilling if you just enjoy it. Just because you are not posting about donating to charity or fighting for civil rights does not mean you are not helping with those causes behind the scenes. Just because you are not sharing photos of your big purchases does not mean you get to enjoy them any less. On the opposite side of things, just because someone in your life does not react to your posts it does not mean they are any less proud of you or love you any less. I think so many of us need to relax a bit when it comes to seeking the validation of social media.
I want to make it clear again this is not an attack on anyone at all. I think we all to an extent seek validation from others especially social media. It just comes naturally as a human, seeking praise and validation from those around us. The most important thing to remember when it comes to social media is that it is simply a lens in place so we only see what the poster wants us to see. Just like in "White Woman's Instagram" when the woman allows her emotions to show through a sentimental post, that is gone almost as soon as it starts as soon as she again starts listing off things to seek validation from the viewer of her post. I think we all have a little of this in us. My advice is to just enjoy life. Instead of posting a picture of the sunset, sit with the person you love and enjoy it. Instead of pausing at a restaurant you are at to take a picture of your meal to post, eat the food, savor it, and savor the company you are with just as much. Share your emotions if you wish, but most importantly take the time to feel them. Life is meant to be lived in the moment, not paused so you can post it on Instagram.
