I love Facebook...yet it is a book of faces and what those faces are doing. Admittedly, I get sucked in and during my weaker moments, it's for hours at a time.
Why? I suppose the reason varies. It's good to see what others are up to. It's a curious itch that seeks to be scratched. Scrolling uses mindless muscles that aren't linked to any type of time-awareness faculties. Sometimes I just want a good laugh for the day. Occasionally I want to mindlessly escape the realities of life that of course would never show up on my timeline.
I've witnessed beautiful displays of tantalizingly arranged dinners...would you want to see my overflowing sink of crusty dishes? Now that's just silly, and gross. Why would I, wife and mother of seven, have cups and plates jam-packed in a 13"x10" space, competing for room with a chili encrusted, two gallon soup pot to see which can jettison more tap water onto the kitchen floor? Puhleez! I can't run fast enough to wash dishes since my little angels race to do this task and fight for the privilege. Yes, MY children should be role models for the U.N. in the manner they get along so amiably. If you saw my FB you'd see them gathered round the table for a wholesome game of Bingo. On a more raucous evening it might be Monopoly. You'd detect no sibling rivalry like the children "I heard about" who tore each other's homework to shreds in a fit of revenge--how beastly. If I could master technology I'd probably post videos of my children volunteering at our Church's fundraising Oktoberfest. There'd be no hint of neighbors closing windows against offensive bickering...nor air conditioners being turned on to further diffuse our...I mean, some families...clamor. If you were to look through the history of my photos you'd notice that it took me a bit of time to get the gist of what is meant by "camera friendly." Of course now, my hair-do is ALWAYS on point (see how trendy my language is ;) ) and professionally enhanced. Isn't everyone's? Why wouldn't it be? We have hordes of money. Simply boatloads, tons, kajillions of dollars! Why would I sneak away to Sally's Beauty Supply, under cover of darkness, with my 14 year-old daughter and grill the once upon a time beautician now turned clerk about coloring? Don't be ridiculous! Why would I accept her offer to write instructions on scrap paper about how to put hair into sections and have my daughter google the steps to balance out dark roots? Honey, Please! Remember..."On Point"- that's me! If I ever sobbed into my bathroom mirror at 1 A.M. after my daughter begged-off and went to bed because it was the first day of school and I was left to rinse my orange tinged hair on my own and attempt a few snips to get rid of frizz...you would NEVER know about it! Of course...never happened. There are no pictures. You can't prove a thing.
For whatever reason I sign on to Facebook, I typically read through the top of my News Feed to see what's what. I keep going to see what's been missed- til I realize the current time and grasp that what's been missed is a chunk of my day!
This isn't a rant about social media...for heaven's sake I'm typing on a blog in real time here. It's just a notion that perhaps it's a good thing to set boundaries for how much of my own life I'm willing to spend on the pictures and captions of family, old classmates, mentors, strangers, and friends of friends. The currency used is seconds, minutes, hours. The hitch is there is no refund. You can't get time back...ever.
Besides, what your currency is spent on perhaps is an illusion. Except on MY timeline- where all is authentic as it's intended to seem ;)
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