Facebook is a great place to catch up with old friends and stay in touch with new ones. It’s always fun to see pictures, watch kids grow and share in adventures.
But when a friend of mine recently posted “Facebook is so hard when you’re depressed” it made me stop and think.
If an outsider were to glance at my Facebook feed, they would be amazed at how happy all of my friends are. We post pictures of all the happy and wonderful moments of our life, but we never mention real life.
What if we created a web-site called Facebook For Real. Facebook will still be the place for all the blissful, happy moments, but For Real is where we will post about the rest of our lives. In other words, most every day.
On Facebook, we’ll post pictures of ourselves at the airport, sitting in their plane awaiting a fun adventure!
On For Real, we’ll describe the multiple flight delays and the 4-year-old who was sitting behind us kicking our seat the entire flight.
On Instagram, we’ll post pictures of our amazing vacation to the beach with the sunshine and sandcastles!
On For Real, we’ll mention the second-degree sunburn, and two solid days of rain that had our family of six stuck in the hotel room.
On FB, we’ll post about how we jumped out of bed at 6:00 am that morning for an invigorating 3-mile run.
On FR, we’ll describe how we hit the snooze button 10 times until was too late to go for a run…and we’re not sorry.
On Instagram, you’ll see pictures of the delicious and healthy meal that we lovingly prepared for our family.
On Insta For Real, you’ll see the burned grilled cheese we made for our son because he hates healthy food.
On Facebook, we share photos of our beautiful new babies, and all their wonderful milestones!
On For Real, we’ll post a picture of our sleepy selves at the 3:00 am feeding, and the spit up that’s been dribbled down our back all day.
On Facebook, we post about our team’s great achievement at work, and tag our company and co-workers.
On For Real, we describe the day we called in sick because we were coughing up thick green mucus, and our kid had diarrhea.
Or the co-worker who stops into our office and talks for an hour straight about people we don’t know.
On Instagram, we’ll post all the great photos and flattering selfies or ourselves when we look our best!
On For Real, we’ll post the deleted shots with our eyes are closed, or our wrinkles showing, or that less than flattering bikini.
On Facebook, we’ll write about our fun shopping adventure to the mall, and all the great things we found.
On For Real, we’ll about our who threw a tantrum in the toy aisle, and how we had to drag him out under one arm as he kicked and screamed!
Or the credit card statement that arrives the next month with all the impulse buys you forgot you made!
It’s human nature to post the good times, the happy times and all that we are proud of. I’m just as guilty as anyone else.
But it’s human to have regular days bad days, and I want to stay in bed days.
If you’re feeling down or depressed, I’d suggest you stay away from social media. It will make you feel like you’re the only one who is struggling. The rest of us are all on exotic vacations, attending fun concerts, or celebrating our kids perfect report card.
And keep your chin up! Rest assured, we all have good days and bad; ups and down; joy and sorrow. And chances are, at one point or another within the last month or so, we have all been just as miserable as you!