A new year often means reflection. We think about the past, and we ponder the future. Many of us consider ways that we can make positive changes in the new year. As 2015 quickly approaches, I want to take some time to reflect on social media and how it impacts us. My good friends at The Be Program wrote this piece below to kick off our discussion. Thanks to Drs. Nardozzi and May for sharing your important message about being real.
Is Facebook Really Your Friend?
In the world of food and body struggles, we so often point to the media and the celebrity world as the culprit of bad influence. Yet, nowadays, even our “friend” culture on social media can offer the same distorted images and realities of life. We see people taking exotic vacations, looking their best, and thoughtfully typing out status updates that are incredibly eloquent. Logically, we all know that this is just a snapshot in the life of anyone, but emotionally, is this creating the next wave of cause for insecurity? How did we, as “friends,” get to a place where we can just present our best side to one another?
Consider this great quote that has floated around for the past several years:
The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.” — Steven Furtick.
First, we invite you to simply pause to notice this growing trend. Could we all get a little more conscious to the un-realities that are being presented, or that we ourselves are presenting to the world? Can we stop to see clearly how alluring it is to present ourselves as great, perfect, or all put together? And yet….can we highlight our humanity with more behind-the-scene moments that are not so exotic, not at our best, and perhaps not so thoughtful?
And it’s not that “highlighting” our best moments is wrong; but there is a way to have your Facebook posts be a more authentic and balanced reflection of your life. We encourage you to make a conscious and courageous choice to BE-ing real, which means posting both the highlight reels and behind-the-scenes moments.
Post what it took to get to a success, not just the success itself.
Post pictures of yourself that are au-natural.
Share about the bumps in the road and what you are learning from them. (Do your best to avoid posting “triggering” details that might be harmful to others.)
By doing so, there are several benefits to transforming food and body struggles:
- It contributes to creating a new culture, where BE-ing real is considered beautiful.
- It encourages people to come out of the shadow of perfectionism and to embrace reality.
- It strengthens true connection amongst us as human beings.
- It gives you the courageous and vulnerable opportunity to face the fear that “If people really knew me, they may not like what they see.”
To truly feel loved by others, you must be courageously seen. If not, you will always question if the love is true and deep. It is the only way to know what real connection is….and we all deserve a little more of this.
About the Author: The BE Program is revolutionizing the way people are getting relief from food and body struggles! Created out of 40 years of clinical experience, the “BE Team” recognized that people benefitted most from brief and daily support while remaining in their real lives. They teach people that how they are BE-ing is the key to knowing what to do, and being successful at it. Enjoy a sample lesson from their exclusive program, by signing up to be a free member with them today at: https://thebeprogram.com/become-a-free-member/
Please post your comments. I would love to hear from you. Is Facebook really your friend? And what about the topic of being real? I wrote about this in Life Without Ed. If you have the book, see “Be Real” on page 37.
authenticity, Facebook, self-esteem, self-love