The majority of social media accounts consist of beautiful, scenic pictures in which the focus is on a smiling, laughing or put-together person. Holidays are celebrated and documented with pictures of lights and presents. Birthday posts are uploaded to show that you care about another person and to reflect on the good times that occurred over the years. Pictures of food and fun locations are posted to show people where you are and what you're doing.
Rarely are pictures posted of the lonely moments. The moments where you are alone at home and you don't know what to do with yourself. Rarely are there pictures that capture the meltdowns where you fought with your best friend and you cried on the way home. There aren't pictures of the meals that taste terrible and the destinations that don't live up to your expectations.
All of these moments aren't presented on social media. On Facebook and Instagram we try to put forward our happiest self. We try to convey the perspective of us being delighted, being surrounded by friends and family and taking advantage of every moment we have by doing cool things.
In college, I've been asked how my friends are doing back home. I tend to respond that my friends are doing well. But then that makes me think, Are they doing well? Their posts look happy. It seems like they are with their friends a lot. Their snapchats look fun. I judge how they are doing based off of the pictures they have presented me. The pictures they have purposely decided to post. I base my answer off of their social media rather than by talking to them or by my time spent with them.
It's nice to be able to log on to Facebook and remember the good moments. I enjoy looking at other people's posts and seeing their happinesses. But I have to remind myself that what I see on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat is not the overall summary of a person's life. There is so much more that is not captured there.
Thoughts are hidden away, actions taken aren't presented and words said are kept in memory. Social media is great. But it is far from the whole picture. Remember that people are more complex than the pretty pictures.
