What are you?   Activist?   Spiritual Yogi?  Party Animal, Health Nut, Rockstar?  Recently I’ve been doing my own study on Facebook’s Posts.  The term is to “Post it to your Wall”.  I’ve found that this feature, even though a very convenient way to keep in touch, is one of man’s creations with the possibility of becoming the internet Frankenstein.  At first, my optimistic spirit found it a way to exercise the intimacy muscle. A place for society to have a way to get out of their own lives and actually invest some intimate time with each other. After all, it is a safe place to express yourself, share opinions, and stay on top of your family photos.

Soon enough this social media monster created it’s own “Viral” frenzy.  Spreading amongst each one of us.  Plaguing us with symptoms of  judgement and ridicule.  Whether you are active on it or not, we all exist with a GPS on us at all times, investigating each others every move. People get tagged and checked into locations without their knowledge as a sea of surveillance videos and smart phones are clicking away without us even saying “Cheese”.   Soon this ego driven machine created an internet wave of a false sense of connection.  Everyone suddenly knew where you were, what you “Liked”, how you looked and even who you were with. I don’t know about you but I started to feel like we were in an interactive Tabloid with the same dirty feel, which leads to no good.  The repercussions of this type of tabloid style media can be detrimental to our mental state in society as a whole.  We start getting paranoid and caring about how people judge us? Comparing your social lives to each others, feeling inadequate or competitive.  Trying to get approval by the number of “likes” you get, or feeling invisible or not loved cause you didn’t even get a “like” at all.

This kind of atmosphere only promotes assumptions by who your tagged with.  Jealousy, revenge, and manipulation come into play when the green eyed monster hazes and as this machine manipulates your insecurities plus controls your time.  Suddenly you find yourself looking at pictures of people you don’t even know.  We all have found ourselves going down that rabbit hole a time or two, feeling like a stalker.  Sure I admit I love to keep my friends and family informed of places I’ve experienced but at times these posts can be material for a persona you may want to create of yourself.  Living in the age of “Branding”, I feel even individuals have started to create an image they are selling of themselves.  This literally creates a data profile based on what you post on your “Wall”, hand selected by you to show the world.  But what goes on behind the almighty “Wall”?

Well, upon further investigation, I discovered, things aren’t always the way they appear on the “WALL”.  Couples that appear to be happily in love may be at the verge of divorce.  The adorable family shot may be after this poor family had a terrible fight or no sleep from their colicky baby.  Don’t assume or be jealous of even those glamor shots of random women or men who pose conveniently posted, that can be from a person who is truly lonely inside and is looking for attention. Groups of friends you assume are BFF’s may not even talk to each other other then the events they go to.  So, people let’s try to assume we are all the same, ’cause funny enough, we are. We are all humans, expressing ourselves.  Hiding behind this “Wall” we are vulnerable enough to share with others.  So let’s encourage each other to lighten up and be organic and intimate.

I found when people were vulnerable on their Wall with problems, a lot of their FB friends don’t know how to deal with it.  They just try to comment with the old, “it will be alright” or “cheer up”.  Yet what about calling that person?  Even private message them if you don’t have the phone number of all of the 800 friends you have. Yep that’s me, I am in the 800 club.  Time to clear out My Own Private Idaho of “followers”.  Wow, now that’s not pretentious.

Wrapping up my discovery and final analysis of Facebook and, honestly, all social media.  I want to go back to the basics, the essentials, being Organic.  I will use it as a tool and not be a “tool”.  I will share my life with people I Truly consider my “Friends”.  I will not be a slave to every notification that starts to take over my productive day.  I also will reach out to the new friends I don’t have phone numbers for and make time for us to get to know one another, other than as a celebrity on the “Branding Machines”.  Remember in “Frankenstein” he really was tender but didn’t know how to deal with his emotions.  Let’s try to help learn together and not turn into Monsters.  ‘Cause it could get Ugly.