It has become an epidemic. And it’s contagious. Although many people use facebook to genuinely stay in touch with saaxiibo, there are others who are using facebook as a place where they can increase their ego. And those are the people I’m focusing on. Facebook has become an important psychological tool in people’s daily lives.
And it is a perfect tool to show off your “ideal” life. And people who aren’t really into the whole showing off thing have to watch these people throw their lives in their faces- literally. Probably why it’s called facebook.
You’ve got to applaud the people who thought this up though. It’s a place where you can show off to the world. I have seen several profiles that scream out “I have the perfect life”. It’s all about popularity- how many friends do you have? Do they love you? How many gifts are you receiving per week from them? How busy is your facebook page? The busier means the better life you have- apparently.
But do they actually know a quarter of the people on their friend list? Like really know them? Do they even keep in touch, or is this friend list just a wall of fame to prove how social you are? And we all know that society dictates that successful people are the social ones. If you’re a loner, “then you’re a loser.”
Then there are the photos. They should have called it vanity book. People post up their best photo- it may not even look like how they are in real life- on their profile. Everyone wants a celebrity head-shot- their chance of fame. And the photo albums show off their happy lives- smiling for the camera. Many people use their wedding photos, to show off that they are loved, happy and married. And on their marital status, they can state who they are married to, with a link to their partner’s profile, who has a gorgeous face. What a life!
Then there are the applications. A place where you can show off all the cities you’ve visited- to show how well-traveled you are. A feature that gives you the perfect opportunity to describe your lovely saaxiib as an amazing person- thus increasing their ego and popularity; and creating an air of celebrity fame for that person.
There’s a program that let’s you add your best friends so that their popularity level increases. A wall where people on your friend list can stop by and write to you. My; what a social, busy bee! This is like 18th century Europe without the Internet; people were rated on how many people they knew and who invited them to grand parties. Adding a friend on facebook is like entering a whole new world of parties.
But I wonder, if their life is so ideal, so perfect as they try to show on facebook, then what are they doing on the Internet? The people I know who have great lives are too busy for facebook. They have a mobile phone and a house where friends can stop by.
It seems that these people who are boasting their fantastic lives- while your life needs to be improved and not by simple DIY- are spending a considerable amount of time on the Internet. They’re not really living their supposedly fantastic lives, are they?
They’re sitting on a cosy chair in front of a screen writing about it. They are detaching themselves away from real life and drawing an ideal picture on the Internet of how they would like their life to look to others. Avoidance problems, perhaps? There is no doubt that the ’self’ is as important as it first was back in the 18th century.
It’s a shame really. All that time and effort consumed into convincing people you have a good life; that you deserve this minute of fame. It could have been spent differently. It could have been spent actually living your life; the life you so desperately need.
