I was browsing through my face book today and I started to recognise an ongoing pattern. Photos posted through instagram, status' s that expressed the amazing things that were happening to people. Pregnancy's, marriages, new jobs!! Are we creating illusions of perfection to each other through the power of social media. Are we sub consciously trying to out do eachother and make our lives seem like fairytales. Is this constant live updating of the good things in our lives making the others we share it with doubt their progression in life?? Please share your thoughts with me on this...
What is perfection? When would you need perfection? Why would you need perfection? What is a fairytale?
ReplyDeleteI would say there is a similar pattern through my facebook of friends, until you get to mine. Then the pattern dosen't really work, I don't have loads of exciting images (not yet!) and my social life isn't the most exciting compared to others on my facebook. But I have started this course, which is exciting in its own way. Plus I do have friends,who let everyone know how they are feeling good or bad
Do I sub consciously try to out do someone else? Well I am competitive, even though I do not have the body for sport. I have occasionally had a bit of a green eye, however I normally like to improve myself not because of a status. I often feed off positivity so I enjoy seeing good status's, even if it isn't happening to me. I also love to see others enjoying themselves. As my confidence is growing I no longer feel the need to compete to win, achieve or be apart of something, but be myself.
Good status's do not make me doubt my progession in life, but it could lower confidence to other's. So I am interested to hear what others have to say on this on this?
Hi Lizzy,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you entirely and I am starting to think that a lot of people are realising this too..I have also been thinking of late, will this 'False sense of perfection' and everyone's dawning realisation eventually effect facebook and cause a whole new turn around.
Will this lead to facebook becoming a place of honesty instead of pretense?
Of course, everyone leads exciting lives (we shouldn't need to prove this), we all have friends and socialise and it is nice to keep hold of these memories with pictures, sharing and expressing these memories with friends and families...but is there a need to share every single detail of our lives? Posting every positive thing that happens to us (or not). It is I feel a way for people to make themselves feel good and to prove they are doing well in life. 'Im really lovin life right now...' Ok, that's nice...but ask yourself? Why have you actually put that on your status? Purely to express your joy?
I am not a one for updating statuses myself. In fact I haven't updated my personal status for over 4 months. I think I did post something at Christmas but then regretted it.
I regretted it because I know how seriously people take facebook...as I hadn't posted anything for a while and then suddenly put something at Christmas I imagined all of my "friends" thinking...aww Carla...she's finally doing something at last. She has got a life!
People see facebook as a way of telling people how their lives are going. Ironically, it is more a case of them telling us the way they wish their lives were going. It is a chance for people to portray themselves in a light they wish to be seen.
I have been tired of this 'false sense of perfection' for some time and am starting to login to facebook more and more just for my business and professional use rather than to 'update my status'.
I do hope that what I wrote earlier will become true. Facebook will eventually lose this sense of being on a battle field. Fighting to prove who has the best life and get back to a place of honesty.
Carla x
Hey lizzie, and girls
ReplyDeleteReading this has been very interesting. Its true perfection, i think everyone feels they need it all the time, false is most defiantly the word. People like it to come across the whole fairytale and social media i feel has done this to people. Carla i completly agree people take it so seriously! Lets hope everyone is just happy within their selves and not feel the erge to post everything on facebook just to get comments or likes.
Sophie x
So true. It has been psychologically shown that platforms like Facebook attract certain types of individual that need their ego bolstered.
ReplyDelete