News Feed Reality

The other day, a co-worker made a comment about a “friend” that she follows on social media that had a “PERFECT!” life. While she was mentioning all the pictures of vacations, the husband and kids, I started to sense that she was feeling envious or even wishing for a life such as hers. I could only respond with “How do you know what her life is like?”

Rewind to a couple months ago when we took these photos on our “vacation” in Jackpot, NV for a weekend getaway. I posted the photo (right) on Instagram/Facebook and completely disregarded the other photo (left). I scrolled threw my pictures a couple weeks later and it made me chuckle a little. Prior to snapping the “happy” photo, I was scowling my husband because he wouldn’t cooperate for the camera. That is definitely not one of my looks that I prefer to declare! Nevertheless, I instantly thought of these photos when my co-worker was discussing her friend’s “perfect” life and although these pictures are just a small glimpse of what you don’t see behind the scenes, I thought it still depicted the message pretty clearly.

My intentions of writing this post is not to criticize individuals on posting fun-loving pictures on social media. In fact, please DON’T stop doing that. Personally, I enjoy seeing all the happiness that people have found in their own lives and seeing the variations of what happiness means to them.

But what I really want to hone in on is this: Use caution while participating in social media.

I think we forget that no matter what the circumstance, everyone has their own story that embodies both the good AND the bad but, just like me, the majority of people will only disclose their good moments, which is what I prefer anyway! (Don’t get me wrong, I think there’s a level of transparency that is respectable, but I do not see social media as a spot to air our dirty laundry.)

I’ll be the first to admit that it is easy to get caught up in social media. At one point in time, I even found myself comparing my life to those that came through my feeds, some people that I barely knew, and noticed a monotonous feeling come over me. It didn’t take long for a reality check to bitch slap me across the face and tell me to “get real”. After I stopped spending so much time focusing on everyone else’s bliss and fortune, I realized I have my own riches sitting right under my nose screaming “be grateful for me!”

With the heavy presence of social media, I think it’s crucial to be able to polish those critical thinking skills and separate the social media truths from the real world authenticity. I think it is sensational to have the knack to embrace each other’s happiness, but only to a certain extent. Because if it starts to become an inhibitor of your own well-being and prosperity, then maybe it’s time for you to have your own reality check bitch slap.

-Kins

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