The cost of being in the public gaze.
Never before have photos of ourselves been so readily available to the public gaze. Never before have descriptions of our lives, the lives of our loved ones, and perhaps even our most intimate moments been so readily available for public consumption.
One thing that always shocked me was our incredibly quick change of attitude. Roughly 15 years ago, if somebody walked up to a stranger and asked for photos of themselves at the beach, they would be slapped in the face and perhaps even get into serious trouble. Now however it is more likely that the same person has already posted dozens of bikini photos online for full public view.
It used to be films and advertising that projected us into the realm of the fantastic, where people live perfect lives and are forever at the peak of their talents and beauty. Now even the movies have been upstaged by the vast majority of social media users who seem intent to portray themselves as the stars of their own perfect and meaningful lives. And as we watch each other, this raises in each of us the nagging question: 'why can't my life be as wonderful as theirs?'.
This new level of worry has of course also led to the temptation to deceive the audience by portraying that we are just as carefree, successful and desirable as the best of them. Countless men and women are doing their best to gain public attention by imitating the images shared by those with the highest popularity, but at what cost? And who are they trying to deceive: the audience, or themselves?
Do your best to use social media fruitfully but always keep in mind that a part of you is, whether you like it or not, is constantly measuring you up against all the other people that you see online. This is a natural reaction in any social context, but keep it in check, because there is nothing worse for your own well-being than never being able to settle with just being you.
It's easier after all to be yourself than to try to be somebody else.
