The Bragging Social Network
I used to be one of them until just 3 months ago. It feels fake, but I still want to share what I recently realized.
As many places I went, as many pictures I posted, with every new accomplishment, there was a new post. If there was a good photo of my ‘good side,’ I said, ‘Well, this deserves to be shared”.
Yet, none of my ‘friends’ know when my birthday is (I don’t know theirs either), none of them have called me in the last year (nor I’ve called them) , none of them have even talked to me in years. Even so, there are some of them I don’t even know. So, I realized…
Who am I posting this for?
…whoever wants to know what’s happening in my life knows what to do: call. That’s what my mom does; that is what I do.
Months ago, I was talking to a relative who, for some reason, decided to open his heart with me (something I was surprised about). He is in his sixties and shared with me some bad experiences he had as a child with family members who live in a different city. However, he also shared that as an adult, he went to visit them several times.
I couldn’t understand; I thought, why would you visit someone that hurt you in the past and has no regret for it? I went straight forward and asked him, ‘Why?’ and then he answered, ‘I wanted to show them how I managed to do well despite them, that I was capable of achieving things, I wanted to prove to them that they were wrong.’
I could not believe he was saying that, not because it was a strange or shameful feeling, but because he was admitting something that could be so difficult to say.
He does not use Instagram or any social network, so he had to travel to another city to make that statement. I concluded he needed to do it because his wounds were still open, because he needed to prove his value.
That story made me wonder:
Why are we posting on social media our achievements or what we are proud of? Is it because we are genuinely sharing with those who care? Because we are so happy that we just want to express ourselves? Or maybe, is it because we need to prove something to the rest of the world, that we could afford that trip, that we can give ourselves expensive gifts, that we have the most solid relationship with our partner or that we got those new biceps showing up?
Why do we need to brag to prove ourselves that we are capable, valuable, or that we have a good life? Is the last question even true when you need to brag to feel complete?
It seems like, no matter how well you are doing now, how many goals you have met recently, none of them matter if everyone is not there to see it.
We should be enjoying every moment just because we know how hard it was, just because we wanted it, and just because, even if no one is there to see it.
What if, next time you go for a vacation, you don’t share anything on your social media? Would you do it? Would you be spending your vacation time finding the perfect picture, or would you spend it enjoying it?
