Facebook Is Killing Me

Or why ego plays a big role in our lives

egotistic: characteristic of those having an inflated idea of their own importance.

I think Facebook is killing me. Something that has been on my mind a lot lately is the success and (or at least perceived) greatness of the lives of those around me in comparison with my own. So through brainstorming this kernel of a thought into a post, I came to realize that many of these separate, unique thoughts have one thing in common — Facebook plays a role in all of them.

But before I continue, this topic reminds me of a line from “Bravado” by Lorde:

Cause I was raised up
To be admired to be noticed

I don’t have any stats on me, but the data on how often us Facebook users ping the network for updates throughout a given day is tremendous. Even if only for a minute, I’m constantly taking a break from my work to scroll through status update after status update. But the funny thing is that the amount of times I find any particular update to be of real importance or tangible value is quite rare. I have to believe that checking Facebook has become a habit ingrained in my head, sort of as a way to “veg out.”

Another well known truth about Facebook is that people finely tune and monitor how their profiles reflect their outward personalities. More often than not these profiles are not quite accurate representations, but that’s for another post. I don’t have a problem with this. I don’t even have a problem with all the junk “Comment if you like the red Power Ranger” posts. My problem is with all the vapid, egotistical posts that litter our feeds on a daily basis.

How often do you see people posting status updates about the hardships they’re going through? Scrolling through several different friends’ (“friends”) profiles, the majority of status updates that are not passive posts, like sharing articles or music, are updates about positive events and changes in ones life. Now, it’s not to say that this a bad thing. Checking your Facebook feed only to see sad and depressing stories all day wouldn't be very enjoyable. That being said, it’s important when checking Facebook to remember that everything you see has gone through a filter. What will gain likes, what people will find interesting, etc.

It’s important to keep this in mind because if you don’t, you’ll start to feel as if your life has yet to amount to much in comparison. This is far from the truth. Everyone goes through ups and downs at different points in their lives — nobody has it as easy as it may seem. Everyone measures success in different ways, but the climb from the bottom is almost always the same. What’s important is that you’re honest, humble (overused but still applies), and happy. Because at the end of the day all we want in life is happiness.

Or maybe I should just check Facebook less.