Anyone can
see me on Twitter, Instagram and Blogger however everything else is as secure as it is
possible to make it.
Facebook has
been fabulous particularly in keeping up with what Family in Melbourne are up
to and getting back in contact with long lost friends from Secondary school and
more recently, my first place of work.
I am aware
of many people who plan their activity and actions around what they will post
to their Social Media sites and then measure their worth based on the number of
“likes” or similar they receive.
I am amazed
at the number of “likes” I get after posting a photo to Instagram and just how
quickly these pop up. Given the number of responses coming within seconds, I am
sure they are not all from ‘real people’.
If I receive
45 responses to my latest sunrise photo of which 40 are total strangers, what
does it mean? Not much.
And in total
contradiction, I get a real kick out of someone re-tweeting one of my tweets,
particularly if it relates to a Blog Post. I have a similarly strong reaction
when a friend on Facebook shares a Blog related status update with their
friends.
So, why do I have a totally different feeling to a stranger acknowledging an Instagram post and a stranger re-tweeting?
I put it
down to the relative effort or emotional investment I may have made in the
respective posts.
For Instagram,
I see a scene I like, point the phone, take the shot and with another couple of
screen touches, it is on my page. However, a Blog related share or re-tweet
represents a much greater investment of time, effort, emotion and dare I say,
vulnerability.
Recording
and publishing a written piece including opinions, observations, daily or
weekly personal happenings is an emotional investment of sorts and open up the
potential of vulnerability.
I guess the
same applies in all walks of life. The more we invest of ourselves in something, the greater the emotional reaction.
If we invest
fully in a relationship, romantic or otherwise, we feel the other person's
pain and their pleasure. We commiserate with them and celebrate for them. We
are invested.
If we
believe in the work we do and invest in that above and beyond the material
benefits it may provide for us, we are vulnerable to loss, but more importantly,
we allow ourselves to experience great satisfaction.
Whenever we
hold back and go down the conservative path or the route of self-preservation,
we also deny ourselves the chance to achieve our full potential.
Perhaps my use
of Instagram is a metaphor for life itself. Because I am the only person who
truly knows my lack of effort and lack of emotional investment when posting a
photo on Instagram, any responses or reactions I receive are meaningless.
It seems to me this is not a great way to conduct this life of ours and my challenge is to
reduce and eliminate all the “Instagram” events.
Based on my
definition, what are your Instagram Moments?
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