“Social media isn’t real, anyway,” my friend shrugs.
It’s true. It rarely speaks to our realities. Nobody wants to hear that kind of thing, at least not in that context. Time and place, as with everything.
I do not spill it all on social media. These people are not my therapist. It’s unfair of me to place that on them. But I do not lie, either. My social media is not an accurate assessment, but it is a fair reflection of my reality. A mirror shows the truth, albeit distorted. Not exactly the same thing. Still, a reflection of an elephant won’t show you a pink flamingo.
Social media isn’t the whole picture. But I do believe it is a piece of it. I’m no longer going to try to pierce through your carefully constructed lies to figure out the truth, but assume it is the truth– if somewhat diluted or only partial. After all, it is social media. Even the most honest person can’t be expected to share everything on a platform.
If you say, “This has been such a great year!” I will assume you mean it and are happy with how the year turned out. I’ll figure that it wasn’t wholly perfect, but, overall, better than the years before it. Or, at any rate, one of the better ones.
If you say you are thrilled with your relationship with your girlfriend, husband, child, etc, I will assume you are pretty dang happy. Maybe you had some fights, maybe there are some problems. What relationship doesn’t have a few issues? But that doesn’t mean you aren’t super grateful and satisfied with the person.
A broken section of a gold necklace doesn’t show us what the necklace looks like--but it’s not fool’s gold, either. Be careful what you choose to share with the world.