Am I really to believe that all 685 of my Facebook friends are living happily ever after? That they really are all married to their soul mate? Or are dating the most perfect person? Could it be that their children are all beautiful inside and out, helpful at home, successful in school, and find the time to bring them breakfast in bed on their birthday? Is it true that their life is perfect? Well, it sure looks that way to me or else there just might be a national epidemic of what I call fbibbing going around!!!
Fbib
/fah-bib/
verb
gerund or present participle: fbibbing
n The need to share only positive information on social media; Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.
n lie, untruth, falsehood, made-up story, invention, fabrication, deception
n “You are fbibbing on Facebook”
I am not here to judge—since I too am guilty of only posting my happiest moments and most flattering pics. I admit that I will even untag myself in a pic when I don’t look my best. I’m actually a huge fan of Facebook for the most part. This social tool keeps me feeling close to the many friends we have moved away from. I love seeing their children grow up. It warms my heart to see friends morph into doting grandparents. I am entertained by all the family pet pictures and videos posted. I love a good montage of a family vacation. I am kept abreast of all graduations, births and sadly, deaths too. And yes, Facebook also provides me the perfect* platform on which to share this weekly blog.
I vaguely remember about ten years ago thinking I didn’t need Facebook. If I wanted to share a picture with friends I would either attach it in an email or mail it in a card! My Facebook fever started out slow, say 30+ friends and the occasional post. Then without so much as a warning, it became part of my daily routine. I am ashamed to admit that now I start MY day by looking at the Facebook posts of others. I check for birthdays even though the ones that really matter are on my trusty wall calendar in my kitchen. I’m really ashamed to say that I find that I now check into Facebook way more than a few times a day.
I think the magic of Facebook for me is that it allows me a place to appear as I wish to be seen. It is a social medium that affords me the time and tools to only share what I want to be shared. This sharing is vast; photos, thoughts, causes and opinions. This sharing is fast; it takes less than 10 seconds to share with your social world, but leaves little time to think things through. This new social world is a slippery slope, one that I myself am struggling to stay on top of.
We all strive to have a happy life, right? So there really isn’t anything wrong with fbibbing—except for how others fbibbing makes me feel. On my good days I am happy for all my friends who seem to be living the life. On my bad days I question my very own happiness.
This makes me wonder and worry how social media affects younger people. I am supposedly a grown-up, mature individual and can be deeply affected by the posts of others. What are kids doing with all this fbibbing? How is this going to affect their lives, self-esteem, goals and plans?
I clearly have some work to do. I plan to limit MY Facebook time. I shall remind myself that if I can appear to the outside world to always be happy, then so can others. Here’s an idea: in addition to TBT (Throwback Thursday) everyone should add a TT (Truthful Tuesday.) Everyone posts a truth, even if it makes us look less than perfect! I shall start today with my Truthful Tuesday post and hope you might join me.
Moral: Let’s embrace our imperfections, since they should not define us but help us to become who we are meant to be.
A few little things you may have noticed:
1. I posted this blog with an incredibly unflattering, yet real pic!
2. * Not so perfect afterall. There was no blog posted last week due to a computer glitch. I apologize for missing the week!