If it’s not posted on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, did it really happen? If we enjoy a vacation, get a promotion at work or spend time with friends and do not post on the Internet about it, does it matter?
There’s a stark difference between our real lives and our social media lives.
In real life, we get up in the morning, put dishes away, then head to work, where we deal with challenging situations that can sap our energy. Later, we pick up groceries, make dinner, pay bills and help the kids get organized for school or their activities. If we’re lucky, there’s an hour in between for fun – or we make our work and chores fun.
In social media life, we are always hiking to mountaintops, sipping wine with friends and travelling to exotic locales. Work and housework do not exist in this odd reality. There are no crying babies, spilled food or time wasted in grocery store lineups. There are no long slogs in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning; the only time we see food on Facebook or Twitter is when it has already been cooked and is beautifully presented.
This warped reality has led to the proliferation of anti-depression drugs taken by people stressed by their imperfect lives.
And it has extended further, to our deepest personal relationships. Prior to social media, people used to propose marriage in private. Despite Hollywood movies showing men dropping to their knees in front of hundreds of people who later applaud, marriage proposals often involved a man presenting a ring over the holidays.
Other than weddings and births, which were advertised in newspapers, lives were mostly private. You had no idea what others owned, where they vacationed and what they did last weekend. You assumed that some had lives more glamorous than yours, but you could not be certain.
Now, it seems, a proposal doesn’t happen unless it’s a huge gesture that can be recorded for social media, like an airplane flying over a beach that has been scrawled with “Marry Me.” In fact, even prom date requests must be big gestures worthy of competition on Instagram.
One can’t help but pine a little for the days when it was OK to talk to someone who made your heart jump and know your moment will not be posted for others to evaluate. In real life, the only person who matters is the person looking into your eyes.
And in real life, there will be dishes to wash and work to do.
– Editor Christine Endicott
