A friend of mine brought up a topic I have been thinking a lot about. Both of us tend to find someone in the blog world that we follow. We don't know them personally. We don't have any connection to them other than we read the things about their life that they are willing to share with us, the readers, through a blog.
Sometimes you wonder when blogging, or facebooking, etc. "is this real? Is this representing my life accurately?"
Do we tend to "perfectize" (did I make this word up? I guess.) our lives? Sometimes blogs and facebook can lend themselves to "bragging" it seems.
Here is what I have been thinking on this though. I think that for the most part people just want to share their good. I have never been one to get on facebook (I don't think, but you may see it different...that is the key everyone sees things differently) and complain about the day I am having, or the crappy mood I might be in, or how my skinny jeans almost busted open when I put them on, or that Finn threw an hour long tantrum. If I do it might be as a form of humor, but for the most part these aren't the things I feel like sharing. That doesn't mean that they do not happen. Life is not perfect. It also doesn't mean that I am hiding it. It just means it is not headline news.
When I blog about all the fun things I did this week, I leave out the laundry, the dishes, the bill paying, the 3 year old fits, the sweeping, etc. because it is boring. No one cares that I swept the floor. It is something we probably all did this week and rolled our eyes and grumbled while we did it.
My intent, as I am sure 99% of the people I know who use social media is not to brag, it is to share the good, the exciting, and what you are proud of. The people's blogs I see as "perfect" , I know they really aren't. But they always look so put together and their stories are always about making stuff by hand and drinking homemade cider by the fire with their children while singing Jesus Loves Me in four different languages.
I don't ever want anyone who reads my blog to think of me as a braggart or as someone who has a perfect life. I have a good life and one that I am very grateful for, but it has its flaws. I, for the most part, just don't want to blog or facebook about those.
Does anyone else know what I mean? Do you think that social media makes us more likely to "perfectize" our lives or other people's?
I love this post. And I think you are so right. People just naturally want to share the positive and fun in their lives. And I think that when we start to feel (jealous?) reading other people's blogs it's because we aren't taking a step back to realize that the shiny happy people in the pictures also have bad days too. Or maybe we ourselves are in a bad mood or are insecure about something.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, as a reader and a human being, I think we all best connect to a person/blog that shows a few glimpses of real life. Things that scream, "Hey, I'm real." So I wonder, maybe I wouldn't mind hearing that you (and I'm saying "you" in general) had a rough day every now and then, or that you are making efforts to pay off your debt (if you have it), or you haven't cleaned your house in a week. Because those things remind me that you are human and that you don't live this fantasy life.