If we got to the bottom, really got honest answers from people of why they share what they do, it would probably not only surprise the hearer but also the speaker as well. Think about it. You go to work and share stories about your life with co-workers, you see people at social gatherings and share. What are you sharing? Do you have young kids and you share their successes and awesomeness with people, did you have an accomplishment that you are sharing with people. Most times it is bringing recognition to oneself. Take social media for example, scroll through your instagram feed and you will see post after post after hundreds of posts of people putting up photos that somehow compete with someone else. People post their holiday photos of where they went and who they are with, how much fun it is. They let the world know how big their Christmas tree is and photos of the kids cutting it down. Because if we take the time to go to a tree farm and cut it down we must tell the world that we did it so the world knows we have a tradition and it possibly makes the ones who just ran down the corner without the kids feel sub-par. We post everything. Our kids hair cuts. Who cares? Our kids first day of school. Who cares? Why do people feel the overwhelming need to tell the world their every step in life? Doesn't anyone have private moments anymore?? Christmas morning the feed is packed with videos and photos of kids opening their gifts. STOP people. Watch your children and treasure that in your heart. If your kids look great when you are going out, sure, take a photo. But if you decide to post on IG, what is the driving force behind that? To get compliments about your kids and validate the parent or give that parent the satisfaction that people think your kids are good looking. It is fishing for compliments. Posting photos of one self on IG, c'mon people, if that is not vanity and pride what is it? Posting a photo of yourself on IG and waiting for the compliments and likes. You would be lying if you said it would not make much difference to you if you received 5 likes or 100 likes or 1 comment or 100 comments. That difference would sadden you or puff you up. That is a fact. If your husband sends you flowers........ let it be a private intimate thing!! Once you share that with the world via social media you have diluted the specialness of it and now it is just a tool to fish for compliments for you and him. How great he is how thoughtful how awesome he is etc. Let your private moments be private moments, don't ruin them by sharing on social media. Happy birthday wishes.... really? You live with this person, why would you post a happy birthday wish on IG when you woke up next to them this morning? What is the reason behind it? Soliciting for kind words for them and birthday wishes. If a person does not know its my birthday i'm fine with that. You shouldn't need someone to tell the world it's your birthday so they can then wish you a good birthday. If your kids are reading the Bible or praying or bike riding, crafting, watching a movie, playing, etc. and it is a special moment, sure we all think to take a photo, we all carry cameras. But when it goes from taking a photo to treasure the moment and look back later in life, or hurrying to post it to the world.. what's the motivation? competition. We compete to see who can post the best photos of our kids, who can post the best sunsets, etc. We post things daily because we get a high from all the comments and likes. If we didn't get comments or likes would we still do it? Sure we say yes now, if we said no, it would be vain. Sure we read this and get a little bit angry and say it doesn't relate to me. But it does. How many of us check out certain posts to see how man likes or comments it got? If we say we never did that we lie. It's human nature seek approval and validation even if it is subconscious and today we can do that with no social interaction and little or no effort. If you go on vacation, go, enjoy it, stop the live feed of everything you do. Is it to let the world know you are having a good time, make those less fortunate feel more bad, convince yourself you are having fun, let the world know what you provided for your family or just feeding an addiction? Sure, take photos of your vacation, it would be foolish not to, everyone likes to reminisce later, but let it be a personal thing, a family thing. Ok, so your parents are gone, passed on, no longer with us. I get that. Mine are too. Any mention of that on social media can only be a cry for attention, a plea for comfort and wanting another wave of "I'm sorry" from everyone. If it is your mom or dad's birthday or the day they died... treasure it and remember them, but a mention on social media is a cry for attention. And, btw, they probably don't have Instagram in heaven, so posting a photo of a loved one who has passed and writing a letter to them probably won't be read or commented on by that person. So what is the reason behind that kind of post? To tell or convince people that we had the best relationship with that person or how much we loved them how much we miss them. Even doing those things in person seems cheesy and cheap like we are soliciting hugs or condolences........ We compete and deny it. compete by posting the nice things our spouse does for us. Compete by posting the things are kids do well. Compete by posting our kids performances and accomplishments. Compete by posting sayings and verses. Compete by posting in general. Stop competing. Stop searching for validation. Stop seeking approval. Stop.
