Facebook vs. Reality

Social media is an incredible tool for people to stay connected like never before. But never confuse social media with truth. Social media isn’t pure truth. It’s the truth we want everyone else to see. Case in point: last week I posted a video on Facebook of our baby girl Elle taking her first steps. It’s a classic parent moment that we wanted to share with the world. We’re up to 154 likes and 21 comments.

https://vimeo.com/119947359

Cute, huh? But that’s only half of the story. Like any great moment posted online, it took several takes to capture that priceless moment. Here’s an earlier take. Here’s reality:

https://vimeo.com/119947360

Isn’t that horrible? But that’s reality, the reality we chose not to share on social media last week. That’s the beauty and danger of social media. It allows you to pick and choose which reality you share. So you can share the best you, the flawless you. But the danger is if we’re not careful we can get suckered into believing that Facebook is reality. It isn’t. Your friends aren’t that perfect. Their houses aren’t that clean. Their kids aren’t that well behaved. That’s just the reality they want the world to see.

Never forget, there’s a big difference between Facebook and reality.