Recently I saw a friend reactivate her facebook account - after a break of almost 1.5 years and it got me thinking. I really thought she'd never come back on facebook. And she did a pretty darn amazing job of staying out of it for so long.. I've thought of deleting my account numerous times, just like a lot of people on my list I'm sure. And I've seen some friends do a great job of staying out of it for so long, only to see them re-appear and change their display picture to claim their stage and let everyone know 'I'm back!'. What is it about facebook that makes us want to delete or not delete or stay in a dilemma about deleting our profiles?
I do think facebook is entertaining, I really do. Especially staying away from home and a place where all my friends who I've grown up with are, just quickly checking facebook and seeing what everyone's upto makes me feel less alienated from the rest of the world. Even if it's just for a few moments. Having said that and in the same breath, I can't deny that my thought process during some of these times is not the healthiest. I'd be lying if I said that I've never socially compared my life to others', or that sometimes I feel like some of them always look beautiful and in every picture they're tagged, or that some of them are constantly having fun, or some of them are always traveling to these exotic locations and just living life sans responsibilities.
I'd like to believe I'm an intelligent person capable of good reasoning and analytical thinking. Yes, I'm not perfect and get caught up in small things too - but for the most part I can reason well enough. How much of all that we see on facebook do we really believe to be true? Just for one moment - forgetting all our insecurities, fears, choices, life questions, identity issues - if we think about it logically and look at it through different glasses, what do we really see or think about what we see? How can anyone really be having such an elaborate social life? And even if they do party every day of the week, is that what we really want or count as fun? We all have different definitions of fun, happiness, social circle etc. But why are we living in denial of this difference in our definitions or why do we think that one definition of, let's say, fun - is better than the other? And seriously, how is it possible for someone to look so good all the time? It is humanly impossible to not have a bad-hair-day or look less-than-perfect every single day. I recently read an article with vivid pictures of models before and after their makeup and photoshop!
After many attempts and thoughts of having or deleting my facebook account, I don't believe that deleting your profile is going to change too much. And as an intelligent race, we have to find a way of dealing with it. So next time you log on to facebook and see all these statuses and pictures of people, stop and think. Think about what makes you happy, think about all the times you've looked beautiful, think about all the gorgeous places you've traveled to, think about 'that night' when you had the most fun.
That cuppa coffee in the rain, that favorite Thai dish, that beautiful dress which makes you look more gorgeous, that dinner with that special someone, that glass of wine, that run on the treadmill, that friend who just gets you, that conversation about life and dreams, that memory which instantly puts a smile on your face.
Let's use this insane social media in a more responsible way, of making others smile, of sharing knowledge/ideas/thoughts, of just being plain authentic. Who are we all trying to fool anyway?
I do think facebook is entertaining, I really do. Especially staying away from home and a place where all my friends who I've grown up with are, just quickly checking facebook and seeing what everyone's upto makes me feel less alienated from the rest of the world. Even if it's just for a few moments. Having said that and in the same breath, I can't deny that my thought process during some of these times is not the healthiest. I'd be lying if I said that I've never socially compared my life to others', or that sometimes I feel like some of them always look beautiful and in every picture they're tagged, or that some of them are constantly having fun, or some of them are always traveling to these exotic locations and just living life sans responsibilities.
I'd like to believe I'm an intelligent person capable of good reasoning and analytical thinking. Yes, I'm not perfect and get caught up in small things too - but for the most part I can reason well enough. How much of all that we see on facebook do we really believe to be true? Just for one moment - forgetting all our insecurities, fears, choices, life questions, identity issues - if we think about it logically and look at it through different glasses, what do we really see or think about what we see? How can anyone really be having such an elaborate social life? And even if they do party every day of the week, is that what we really want or count as fun? We all have different definitions of fun, happiness, social circle etc. But why are we living in denial of this difference in our definitions or why do we think that one definition of, let's say, fun - is better than the other? And seriously, how is it possible for someone to look so good all the time? It is humanly impossible to not have a bad-hair-day or look less-than-perfect every single day. I recently read an article with vivid pictures of models before and after their makeup and photoshop!
After many attempts and thoughts of having or deleting my facebook account, I don't believe that deleting your profile is going to change too much. And as an intelligent race, we have to find a way of dealing with it. So next time you log on to facebook and see all these statuses and pictures of people, stop and think. Think about what makes you happy, think about all the times you've looked beautiful, think about all the gorgeous places you've traveled to, think about 'that night' when you had the most fun.
That cuppa coffee in the rain, that favorite Thai dish, that beautiful dress which makes you look more gorgeous, that dinner with that special someone, that glass of wine, that run on the treadmill, that friend who just gets you, that conversation about life and dreams, that memory which instantly puts a smile on your face.
Let's use this insane social media in a more responsible way, of making others smile, of sharing knowledge/ideas/thoughts, of just being plain authentic. Who are we all trying to fool anyway?
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