The other day, my fifteen year old daughter looked at me and
asked, “Mom, you know what I like about myself?” “What?” I said. She responded, “I can have fun and not tell
anyone else about it.” I smiled at the
profundity of her statement.
We are all a part of a culture where every movement made,
every trip taken, is posted on Instagram or Facebook moments after it has
happened. When I was growing up, we
looked forward to our friends coming back from vacations, so we could listen to
their stories and see their photos.
Today we are able to know the intimate details of our friends and
complete strangers lives without them ever sharing it with us face to
face. It leaves us unable to sincerely
ask someone, “What did you do on vacation,” or “how was your day?” We already know the answer.
To my daughters point: How many times do you actually plan what you
are going to do so you can post a “great photo”? How often do you have more fun thinking about
who will see your post vs. actually enjoying what you are doing? Performing
ultimately leads to comparison. When we
compare ourselves to others it is a lose/lose situation. We determine we are either “better than” the
other person and boost our ego/pride or more often, we believe we are “less
than” and feel poorly about ourselves.
More Questions to Consider:
Who are you performing for?
What do you get out of performing?
How often do you compare yourself with others?
What feelings do you experience when you compare yourself to
others?
How are you “writing your story” via Instagram or Facebook
posts to perform?
What would it be like for you to not post anything on social
media or visit social media for one month? |