I’ve read several articles lately on the facade of social media. Authors are complaining that tweets and posts and pins sound more like the typical Christmas newsletter than life-as-we-know-it. People post things like: Can’t decide between Cancun and Bermuda for Spring Break. Or this: My husband just brought me breakfast in bed along with a gift certificate for a massage to celebrate the fifth anniversary of our first date.
Riiiiiiight.
I get this complaint. In fact, I played along this week with Real Simple Magazine during their Get Real on the Internet challenge. People actually posted pictures of their messy house and their failed recipes. We admitted things like bad hair days and forgetting-to-feed-the-kids-breakfast.
But, honestly, I have some complaints on this side of the balance scale, too. Nothing irritates me more than a social media sour puss. You know the one. She complains about everything. The weather. Her paycheck. The neighbors. Her job. How tired she is. Her homework load. It goes on and on. I especially dislike these posts when they come from someone who claims to be living the Life More Abundant as a follower of Jesus.
So, I’m thinking there is room in our culture for a happy balance on Social Media. Maybe we can find a way to tell the truth without being whiners. A way to share our universal trials without falling into a global funk.
What do you think?
I somewhat follow the 4 E rule(I just made the name up because they all start with E!),: if what I am about to post isn’t going to entertain, encourage, enlighten or somehow edify, then I don’t post it.
Sometimes sharing a mistake falls in the category of all four of the above, depending on the heart and the motive behind sharing it. If I am sharing it to get sympathy, that is a wrong motive. If I am sharing it to bring knowledge to others so they don’t do the same thing, that’s a right motive. I could give more examples, but I imagine you get the picture.
On the opposite end, if I post about a success, it can be for good and bad reasons as well. If I am posting it to get an “atta girl” that is a wrong motive. That is one reason I stopped posting on facebook about what I was canning and doing in my garden. It started out as just sharing what I was growing and doing but then I started feeding off the praises and wanting to “impress” people to get those nice comments. When I found myself staging shots to best highlight something I was working on, I realized it was a problem.
I know that most folks who post constant misery are really crying out for help. And to be honest, so are the folks that only post about the “shiny” truth. They generally don’t have that relationship with the Father that fills the void so they look for people to fill it either through sympathy or praises. I find myself praying for them as I read their posts. And probably not the kind of prayer they would want to hear, but it is what God lays on my heart about it.
So that’s what I think about it. š Probably more than you bargained for, but it hit a nerve this morning I guess.
I love getting more than I bargained for! And I think your for E’s are brilliant. However, I also think your masterpieces of canning fit those categories even if you thought you were going over the edge. We were all inspired by your efforts. I don’t plan to ever can my own food, but your success did make me want to put more effort into the things I do focus on. Just sayin’
I’m with you. There has to be a balance. Carol’s ideas are excellent – the 4 e’s, I love it.