A thought has been weighing on my mind lately - are our digital personas taking precedence over our physical selves?
When I was younger I had a computer game called The Sims, which many who grew up in the 90s would remember. In the school holidays I would spend hours choosing the right hair, body shape and outfit so my Sim could be, in my eyes, perfect. Next was the construction and decoration of the "perfect" house for my Sim, which was equally important.
It was a perfectly constructed world (until you forgot to send the Sim to the toilet!) and it gave me great satisfaction to see everything laid out so orderly. Getting the Sim to work on time, maintaining good health, fitness, cooking for the family and having a social life were all aims of the game.
Hours would quickly fly by while I sat in the computer room, constructing a "life" for my Sim but sometimes forgetting to eat lunch!
Don't worry. I soon woke up to how silly the whole thing was and went outside to play, explore and concentrate on my own life.
But lately I've been wondering if social media has created a life-sized version of that game I used to waste so much time playing.
Last night my Mum asked me how many social media accounts I use.
"Oh not many. Just Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest (and now this blog site!)," I told her.
"That sounds like a lot," she said.
"Whatever you do, don’t ever post anything about me or Dad on Facebook. I don't want everyone knowing what we're up to."
It reminded me of the thought that's been weighing on my mind lately.
Why do we feel the need to share so many things on social media?
Typical (and oh so over-shared) posts include the salad we had for lunch, the cute thing our pet did, the 'I'm at the gym' selfie, the holiday snap, and the "look at me I'm so pretty today" selfie.... the list goes on.
But, just like the Sims, it's a perfect world that we have constructed ourselves.
What about the posts we don’t see?
What about the lazy moments when the TV wins over the gym, having one too many TimTams, or being in a bad mood?
If you looked at a lot of people's social media accounts you could assume these moments of weakness don't exist. But of course they do - that's life!
Are we so focussed on making our digital personas look perfect that we are setting unrealistic expectations for ourselves, comparing ourselves to others and making ourselves miserable in the process?
Or is it the opposite effect true, and posting on social media actually encourages us to live better, healthier, more active and fulfilling lives?
At least it makes us pause and recognise the things that make us happy (and take a sneaky photo).
But do we really need to share every detail of our life online for it to matter?
After all, we are living, breathing, emotional human beings. Not some character that's been created on The Sims.
My thought for the day!
To be continued...
Disclosure: I love a good selfie. Especially on SnapChat.
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