About a week ago, I posted this picture on social media shortly after I got back from a camping trip:
I posted this to my social media accounts around 5pm. By all accounts, in this picture the hubs and I are ecstatically happy and in love, enjoying an evening out at Swabbie's on the river. Life looks picture perfect, right? In that moment we were having a good time, then we got into a conversation that caused a HUGE argument: finances. So about 12 minutes after I took this picture, the rest of the night devolved. We barely talked to each other for the rest of the time at Swabbie's, and after our evening went home, continued arguing and being completely angry, unreasonable and unhappy with each other. Below is a picture I took later that evening as I sat on the couch feeling frustrated.
But I didn't post this picture on social media... and most people wouldn't. I bring this up because kids nowadays have been raised in a time of 24-7, 100% in-your-face-all-the-time social media. People tend to only post things that paint themselves in the best light possible, when reality might look vastly different.
Why is this important?
If kids are on social media every waking hour possible, and see pictures of their friends, family, their crush, etc., and every single picture they see is of sheer happiness and a wonderful life, it begins to make them feel inadequate in some way, or like something is wrong with them as an individual. This creates a sense of anxiety, depression, loneliness, etc., and kids begin the "suffer in silence" mentality without realizing that all of their friends post amazing wonderful happy pictures, but in reality, under the surface, their friends, their crush, family, may be suffering too.
Until we can outwardly acknowledge that there is a good amount of social media that isn't real, we won't be able to make the much-needed progress on improving our REAL selves.
I'd love to know your thoughts...
(And to follow-up, the hubs and I are doing just fine, which is why I feel comfortable posting this in the first place.)
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