Now, I don't think we necessarily lie on Facebook. Our cheery, happy, beautiful pictures are real life. We aren't making this stuff up (unless you're photoshopping yourself into beach scenes and a set of six pack abs). They just aren't the whole truth. Everyone's life looks perfect from a social media lens. I can't tell you how many times I've experienced Facebook envy.
My life on Facebook is an airbrushed and Instagrammed image of my real life. I edit the suckage because I want people to think I have my shit together.
I'm sure some people think my life is comprised of pure bliss, running on scenic trails day in and day out and hanging out at the beach. While that is almost true, there is more to the story. Photos only tell a portion of the truth. I like to think I keep it real on Facebook, Instagram and my blog, but when I looked a little more closely, I realized I don't always divulge all of the dirty details. So, in the spirit of being honest, I will share the whole truth behind some of my very own Facebook and Instagram photos.
**
The photo says: I'm out having so much fun celebrating a friend's birthday!
The whole truth: I drank too much and ended up eating an entire burrito in a taco shop by myself at the end of the night while a group of people asked me "where are your friends?"
**
The photo says: Look at me! I can surf! Livin' the SoCal life!
The whole truth: I barely got up once, got smacked in the head with my board and ended up with a huge bump on my skull. I royally suck at surfing!
**
The photo says: I have such a relaxing life without kids. I get to sleep in and
leisurely enjoy my morning with coffee, a book and my adorably perfect
dog.
The whole truth: It's actually noon, I have a massive hangover, and I need this coffee for my survival. I also woke up to some dog pee on the kitchen rug.
**
The photo says: Just another epic run on this gorgeous trail! Be jealous!
The whole truth: I have major GI issues and this run is so painful, I'll use any excuse to stop and take a picture! Oy.
**
The photo says: I always eat delicious, homemade meals chock full of vitamins and minerals! I'm so, so healthy!
The whole truth: Most nights I eat a bowl of cereal for dinner and call it a day. I also drank almost the entire bottle of wine myself.
So, there you have it. I'm not perfect. My life is messy. I'm human.
Time to spill the beans!
Posts
Girl, I absolutely love this post. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome idea. I love (and appreciate) real, raw talk! Half the time I take pictures I'm either super stressed and busy, in a sour mood, or I had just burnt some kale chips. Hello, life.
ReplyDeleteOk I just found your blog and read this post... so awesome I can't NOT add you to my reader! Your "whole truth"s are so spot on! Can't wait to read more from you :)
ReplyDeleteErin
I love this, Kate! I read that blog post the other day and loved it, too. My husband isn't on FB and asks me occasionally what it is all about. I said that it is basically a platform for people to brag about their lives. I'm no exception, that's for sure! I don't necessarily try to make it that way but I'm not posting many pics of my house when it is a complete mess, videos of me yelling at the kids, status updates that talk about the monotony of many of my days at home with the kiddos, etc.
ReplyDeleteFunny that you mentioned that pic above with you, a book, coffee and your pup. I remember seeing that and being very jealous of your child-free life. Definitely not jealous of the hangover, though. Ha! :)
Awesome post! So true. :)
ReplyDeleteI love this so much and you even more knowing the whole truths.
ReplyDeleteI f*king love this. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteHa! Love your pictures and your stories. And you know, I thought long and hard about this the other day after reading Amanda (zippy)'s post. I think I'm overall pretty real, tell it like it is on facebook. I suppose I don't always tell about super personal things like the awesome sex I just had or the fact that I love that I'm super regular. Ha! Or even put it out there that I just had an argument with my husband or best friend. But these aren't things I'd want to read either. :) But I usually don't only post happy glittery "look at my fantastic" life photos either. I try to give windows into my crazy life as a mother, tell about my naughty (but I love him anyway) little boy that makes my heart beat faster than it should, and when I just feel lousy and lost. But these posts definitely have me thinking this week. They've for sure made me a little more self conscious about posting my happiness and happy life pics. Maybe even think about taking a step back from facebook.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you should be self conscious about those happy pictures. I have to say, I love my life and I think it's pretty damn awesome most of the time. I will continue to post my cheery, life-is-perfect pictures because I do think life is beautiful and we should celebrate it. Right?
DeleteYou know, I actually text my friends all sorts of things during the weeks that are sent as the facebook status that wasn't with things like:
ReplyDelete* Just took a really great dump
* Gosh, I suppose I should put on a bra today.
* Wow, that was some great sex! Now where's the chocolate?
* Sucks that my tampon just fell out while running and jumping.
* Damn, I peed my pants again on the trampoline.
* Really sick of listening to people bitch about their life...if you don't like it, change it!
* check out this picture of my butt in this victoria secret bikini...so NOT okay. Ha!
* Look at this pic of my boobs from when I was 21! Holy perfect...what the heck happened.
Okay, you get the gist. I should make a blog post out of these someday. :)
Okay, these cracked me up! Can you imagine the response you'd get if you actually posted these? I think you should try it. :)
DeleteI have simliar texts with my friend. In fact, one friend and I discuss the workplace bathroom (we work at different jobs) issues that we both have. SO, funny!
Deletehahahaha
DeleteI love this; made my day, actually. Thanks for keeping it real!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this post!! its so nice to know we arent alone in this messy life. i appreciate your candor!
ReplyDeleteSomething i wouldnt put on FB but is true is that my finances are a complete mess right now. My husband has been out of work far too long and things are getting scary. but one day at a time and we're muddling through it all. we had a horrible stinky plumbing problem this morning and just had to laugh about it. at this point its like whatever.
So, so true! And what I hate most is that I purposefully put those pictures up.
ReplyDeleteLove this post and all the articles related to this. I'm always fascinated by the way we portray ourselves and know I'm totally guilty of the same. When I don't post shit, that's usually when things are bad. Haha! Oh, and all the photos I post of me running with shelter dogs - people don't get to see the amount of dog urine, poop and puke I tend to be covered in!
ReplyDeleteI love this post also!! My favorite people in the world are those that keep it real, just like this! I am also guilty of facebook envy and have to remind myself that people(myself included) often paint a prettier picture on social media. After reading this, I went to my FB page and looked for pictures that told a different story than what actually happened. My favorite was a picture of me with my friends after my first 5 mile run (Thanksgiving Turkey Trot). What the picture said: "Look at me! I'm a runner now!" What actually happened: "I started out way too fast on my run, and barfed up every drop of water I drank the second I crossed the finish line". :)
ReplyDeleteLove this! I have plenty of friends ( and myself ) that are guilty of this. I appreciate the bragging way more than the incessant grumps that think their lives are awful.
ReplyDeleteI have been saying this about Facebook for years. I read an article years ago about how reading FB makes people depressed by seeing how happy and perfect others' lives are and thinking about how depressing their own is. That being said, I am tired of reading whiney, complaining FB posts, too: the people who can't find a suitable job, who can't find a partner who won't cheat on them, who can't stop blaming their lack of $ on the President. OK-most of these posts come from old friends from high school I haven't spoken with in years since I left the town and they all stayed, so I end up deleting them anyway. But there is room for balance; sometimes we all deserve to whine and other days we all deserve to celebrate the small things. I try on my blog to maintain a balance between "I am so glad I got a 2 min PR!" with "I am so mad my body broke down and I only got a 2 min PR when it could have been 10!" Meh. Sorry for my long ramblings-keep up the good posts!
ReplyDeleteOh my lord, I LOVE this post. Let's see... all those pictures of my adorable dog? Well, they cover up the fact that I have a terrible self-image and hence don't like pictures of myself, and that I was recently dumped and don't have much else to focus on!
ReplyDeleteYour so funny! I love these facebook posts, but I have to say, I don't ever feel envy, I don't know why, I guess I know that none of us are perfect. I enjoy seeing everyone's "Perfect" pictures, they make me happy, plus I know who is real and who is fake, the people who are fake on fb are fake in real life too. People don't want to see all the bad stuff, can you image if we posted things like cat barf? of yeah, I did that once and I'm pretty sure I lost a few people from my feed! haha , no joke.
ReplyDeleteHaha, love this post!
ReplyDeleteI don't post much on Facebook, and when I do, I generally keep it pretty real. But behind my Buenos Aires photos, the real feeling is: Yes, it's very nice here, everything is fine - but I'd much rather be in the woods and on my trails in Germany.
And I love my vegan food, but I regularly get into trouble with my husband (he seriously gets mad at me) because I eat all of his chocolate all the time.
hahaha! I love this post in every way. I love your blog and I love this post the best. Thank you for this post ...it is soo true! :)
ReplyDeletenow I know why your blog is maybe my favorite! you're real real :)
ReplyDeleteI read that article when you linked to it on FB and now this post - I love it. Thank you for your honesty and directness. I was having this conversation with my 12 year old daughter - she's beautiful, intelligent and on FB - and talking about how people profile their lives on and off FB and how it's easy to present an image that doesn't show the whole picture. I think it's hard to get the whole picture - and I don't think anyone wants to see my whole picture - but nonetheless, it's sometimes worth thinking about whether we work TOO hard to present perfection - what does that say about how really think about our lives? I recently wrote a self-pitying and sad post about how slow my running was and how I couldn't hack competition. After writing it I nearly took it down - I wasn't proud of myself for feeling as I did - but the responses were so interesting. So many people said to me that they were relieved I too sometimes felt like that which made me think "do people really think I am always perky and on top?". Because I'm not! Like you, life is good and I am very happy and lucky with how things are. But that's not to say I always feel wonderful and happy. THanks for raising this and making me think about it some more. Some honest pics will come up soon.
ReplyDeleteThis was an excellent and funny post. I love it. It's the same with the digital camera. I only keep the pictures that do not make me look so fat or weird or whatever.
ReplyDeleteI loved your pictures. I'm sure I have a few of those where I look great, night out with the girls. Truth..>I fell down drunk twice and had a massive hangover where I couldn't even form a sentence.
Have a good day.
LOVE. love love.
ReplyDeleteDespite having a blog, I'm a pretty private person about a lot of things in my life....I definitely share one side of my life on my blog, I use it to celebrate the positives in life and I generally don't dwell on the negatives. Yes, this is unbalanced but that's the only way I'm comfortable. I enjoy reading more balanced stuff on other people's blogs, just not my own...which I know is a ridiculous contradiction, but that's how it works for me. Thanks for a fantastic post!!
Oh my.... You are too funny!
ReplyDeleteI definitely filter my FB/Twitter and even my blog - but mostly because I have to, not really because I want to (job stuff).
ReplyDeleteI do refrain from saying how many beerz I had that night or that I had a huge Big Mac meal for dinner - although some people have said I totally should comment on the big macs!
LOVE. Thank you for making my day with this. I'm so tired of people putting their "best life" on facebook - I try and make a real point of not doing that.
ReplyDeletethis is so funny! and so true :) thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleterunningathousandmiles.blogspot.com/
Excellent! Thanks for jumping on the bandwagon and airing some dirty laundry. We all have it and sometimes it's just refreshing to see others!
ReplyDeleteFavorite blog and favorite post. Love your style Kate!
ReplyDeleteI loved this post! I think it is ok to share (or not share) the good moments in our lives on social media. But I have to admit I always chuckle when I hear the backstory from the pics. Most people share the details if you actually have a face-to-face conversation about the pic. I think that is where social media leads to feeling envious or short-changed. Human connection is hard to duplicate soley through the internet. :)
ReplyDeleteHaha great post!!! I love the one about eating a burrito by yourself after a drunken night out!
ReplyDeleteI think in general, Facebook world is dreamland. It seems like EVERY week someone (or several) on facebook I know is traveling in a different country. It can make your real life seem mundane!
Loved that! Too funny ~ ha ha. Thanks for a big chuckle.
ReplyDeleteHa ha, this post was awesome!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, I've lived in San Diego almost my whole life and I've barely gotten up on a surfboard too! It's a lot harder than it looks!
This was an awesome post and really resonated with me about how some of my FB friend's posts seem.
ReplyDeleteI finished two bottles of wine with my bff last night, stayed up way too late, and I didn't do my 7 miles I wanted too. Just 4... Lol
This is awesome!
ReplyDeleteHere's mine: I gave my kids a lecture in the car that was so long that I started getting on my own nerves, and I think it was over something stupid like how many minutes they should practice the piano. Sometimes/a lot of times I'm an annoying mom.
Also, I have a few FB friends who are a little bit in depressive overshare mode all the time. Do you have any of those? They rarely post anything positive. Maybe to balance out the rest of us.
This is one of my favorite blog posts anyone has ever done. HAHA!
ReplyDeleteLove this post!
ReplyDeleteThis was awesome... i want to do it!
ReplyDeleteI love this! Such an amazing post!
ReplyDeleteI love this 'behind the shot' series!
ReplyDeletehahah! I love this post - so cute...but so true! Thanks for the great read :)
ReplyDeleteI like these pictures and posts because they often make me look at my own life more positively, rather than negatively. For instance, the photo with your book, coffee, and dog. I drink coffee and read with my dog every weekend, but I tend to take it for granted sometimes. I teach toddlers, so I do have a healthy appreciation of quiet time at home alone, but I sometimes do get annoyed when my dog insists on sitting on my face when I try to read. this photo just reminds me how sweet he is, how much I love him, and that he only does that because he wants to be as close as possible.
ReplyDeleteSometimes however on blogs and FB I become critical of myself for not running enough. I think "if I ran as much as her I could eat that" or basically "should" myself to death. I love running, but I have other intense physical activities that I do most days, and when I try to run, too, in addition to working, my body gets over-exhausted. I guess we just have to know when to give ourselves a break.