There’s been a lot of talk on Facebook and in the blog world about the face we show publicly. Lots of talk about the fact that everything we write is a facade, that there are things about our lives that we don’t show our friends and readers. There’s even a term for it, “Fakebooking”, and how it’s meant to induce envy and/or show people how good your life is.
I like to think I keep it pretty real here and on Facebook. Sure, there are things to envy about my life. I have a strong marriage, a warm house, good kids, a loving extended family, and some really awesome friends. But the person you see here is pretty much the same person you’d meet if you walked in my door.
A slightly obnoxious mom and wife who loves good beer and running, who struggles a bit with depression especially in the winter and when running isn’t allowed, who’d rather go on a fun vacation than upgrade the kitchen or add a master bath. A person who has a pretty good life, but still has challenges like everyone else: those last pounds that won’t go away, things that go wrong with the house, work frustrations, unexpected expenses, etc.
Don’t believe me? Here are some recent FB statuses:
I’ve shared pictures like this one:
Sexy, I know. Beer Geek is a lucky man. Yes, I really do wear that robe every.single.evening in the winter. (Actually, I have two identical ones.)
Want to see some more reality?
My dining room looks like this 90% of the time. And all my friends have seen it this way.
My stove was manufactured in 1962 (and obviously designed by a man because there are SO many places that are impossible to clean.) It’s also only 23 inches wide. Really. And I’ve been cooking on it for 15 years. And obviously I couldn’t be bothered to sweep the floor before I took the picture.
My “master bedroom” closet is smaller than most people’s coat closets. In the late 1930s, people didn’t have a lot of clothes.
See? I’m a pretty open book. What you see is what you get. And if you don’t believe me, come on over for a beer. One beer and I lose what little filter I have.
Who are you kidding? You don’t have a filter.
Love the dining room chairs. Love.
If I had a robe like that, I’d totally rock it too. I opt for multiple layers, and I slightly resemble a homeless person wearing all they own.
I like when people are real so I don’t feel lik the only person with a messy house. My kitchen often looks like I’ve never done the dishes in my life. I do, I swear, but the only time people stop by are immediately post meal and they’re piled high. Whatever 🙂
Everynow and then I wonder if I should photoshop out the mess in my house. but then decide I am too lazy to clean and too lazy to photoshop too.
We should definitely hang out together 😉
People without filters are my favourite. I can’t stand false, fake people who try to let you know that their lives are perfect. Lives are never perfect. They’re messy, painful and unpredictable but they can also be a hell of a lot of fun.
Great post, I actually believe you to be real. There are some people who truly only post things to make them look better and forget that the world would rather see a real person and read about the good and the bad, NO ones life is perfect. We tend to see everyone’s highlight reel on Facebook, rather than the day to day.
I can relate a lot to things you say, lets see here, I have very little closet space, my stove and everything in the kitchen is old, oh wait, and my house is 103 years old. Yep. It never stays clean. Oh and I don’t have enough fingers to count the amount of times I have found old bananas in my purse or work bag.
This is the first time I’ve ever stopped by your blog, and I cannot stress enough how much I love you for this post. I can totally relate to so much of this (including the moo moo robe.). You have a new follower for life.
I like this post, and the list of your updates is funny. But I have to say I am mystified by the things I have also seen recently about concerns that people aren’t “real enough” on Facebook or the internet. I guess the way I see it is that every face we put to the public, or even to friends or family–on the Internet or in person–is some version of ourselves that we want to express. That might be because that is the person we most want to be or something more manufactured, but is FB really any different?
When you are polite to someone despite being in a foul mood and not really wanting to be, is that being fake? I guess I would look at your statuses and say that you are projecting a personality that likes to have a laugh and take it in stride when things aren’t perfect or perfectly in order. For me, Facebook is just another version of this, with the main difference that the FB friend that I am least close to sets the “least common denominator” for what part of myself I am putting out there.
I might not be that interested in reading FB posts from someone whose life seems like a Pinterest page, but I am not going to hold it against someone that they aren’t airing all their laundry in public either, I guess.