I am a big fan of social networking,I love Twitter and Facebook and am one of those people that check it constantly. I guess the nosey journalist in me wants to stay in the know of all things that happen in pop culture and in my friends' lives but I had a really interesting talk with a former professor and one of my good friends about what these sites have done to society.
Posting pictures, statuses and allowing the world, or who u accept as a friend or follower, to enter your personal life and know facts about what you do and who you do with them is like a show. It's a competition to show the world you're happier than the rest and you're having the time of your life, but what I have come to find out is what may seem picture perfect is really imperfect. I never noticed until my professor pointed out that taking pictures these days is no longer for our own keepsake but instead it's to make it into a default pic on a page. Think about it, when you take a picture with your significant other, friends or family how many people say I'm putting this up on Facebook, or how many times do you take a picture over so it could look perfect online? I'm guilty of it and like my professor said I posed to show a scene I wanted the world to see not one that was natural. I had lunch with an old friend and when we were catching up she told me about all her marital and financial trouble and I asked her 'but you seem so happy on facebook' her response? 'I want to look happy I don't want anyone to know the truth. Everyone is always watching you online and judging. But posting pics means not a damn thing.' I took that to heart because I have been judgmental and jumped the gun and thought a million things about people because of pictures I've seen and in the end it was all fake. A lot of people's lives involve proving to the world or sharing personal business as if we were characters off "The Hills" but like that show our displays our unnatural. I try and figure out why proving to everyone that I'm good and not in any distress is so important to me, or even why I have to post anything at all. I could easily erase everything and live life to be happy and move forward but some magnetic force pulls me back to stay and play this game. There was no real big point to be made but just food for thought.
