I am not posting a beautiful picture of mine on the beach at sunset in the perfect dress. I am not posting a picture of mine jumping in joy with a creative blur of city lights behind me. I am not posting the black and white picture of the perfect steam coming from the cup of coffee in my hands. I am posting instead a few lines about a recent incident in which I acted irrationally and was not proud of. Nothing illegal or immoral or too personal. Just something small I did, big enough yet for me to learn a lesson. Why did I do that ?
Because that too is life! Of course I want to share all the happy moments of life with my friends on Facebook. But what happens when I keep posting the "perfect pictures" and never the "imperfect" one's: what happens sub-consciously? What happens to us when looking at these pictures is something very similar to how advertising works. We are shown a beautiful, happy, sexy scene, that sometimes has nothing to do with the product and yet sub-consciously we associate the product with all that we see : Happiness!
When we see people always happy, always beautiful that is what our sub-conscious registers. No matter how much we may think out loud that everyone's life has its share of ups and downs, one would continue to feel that our own life is not matching up to the "bar" of prosperity or joy set by others in our life (social life). This is inspired by a recent article I read about Mark Zukerburg sharing about his wife's miscarriages on the social media.
This either creates a strong urge to do the things that you see others doing, just so you can post about it! Yeah Yeah Yeah, I know you really felt inspired to do the skydive looking at your friends picture, but was it really you who appreciates the "eye-appeal" of that Biryani ? Did you always want a picture of yours with arms open in the middle of mountains ? The point is, when you post something that is "picture perfect" you are advertising your life to be that perfect. And that is not real.
There was a 5 hour flight, 2 hour drive, 3 hours of hike in which you felt sweaty, hungry, tired and breathless before you could spread your arms in the midst of the mountains. How about a picture of you in the middle of the hike with your face all red ? Do you dare to do that?
It might just be ok, from time to time, to post about the real you. Some challenge you faced. A picture you weren't looking perfect in.
And sometimes.... it is perfectly okay to not post at all.
Hope you all have a realistic day :P.
PS: I am going to post my pictures with me in the middle of the mountains as soon as I find them :P
Because that too is life! Of course I want to share all the happy moments of life with my friends on Facebook. But what happens when I keep posting the "perfect pictures" and never the "imperfect" one's: what happens sub-consciously? What happens to us when looking at these pictures is something very similar to how advertising works. We are shown a beautiful, happy, sexy scene, that sometimes has nothing to do with the product and yet sub-consciously we associate the product with all that we see : Happiness!
When we see people always happy, always beautiful that is what our sub-conscious registers. No matter how much we may think out loud that everyone's life has its share of ups and downs, one would continue to feel that our own life is not matching up to the "bar" of prosperity or joy set by others in our life (social life). This is inspired by a recent article I read about Mark Zukerburg sharing about his wife's miscarriages on the social media.
This either creates a strong urge to do the things that you see others doing, just so you can post about it! Yeah Yeah Yeah, I know you really felt inspired to do the skydive looking at your friends picture, but was it really you who appreciates the "eye-appeal" of that Biryani ? Did you always want a picture of yours with arms open in the middle of mountains ? The point is, when you post something that is "picture perfect" you are advertising your life to be that perfect. And that is not real.
There was a 5 hour flight, 2 hour drive, 3 hours of hike in which you felt sweaty, hungry, tired and breathless before you could spread your arms in the midst of the mountains. How about a picture of you in the middle of the hike with your face all red ? Do you dare to do that?
It might just be ok, from time to time, to post about the real you. Some challenge you faced. A picture you weren't looking perfect in.
And sometimes.... it is perfectly okay to not post at all.
Hope you all have a realistic day :P.
PS: I am going to post my pictures with me in the middle of the mountains as soon as I find them :P
2 comments:
Ohh darling! you just made my day. I guess, I wanted to hear this from someone I know very closely. Loved every bit of it. :)
Well written! The pretentious generation !!
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