Like Chaka Khan once crooned, "It ain't all good," and this is the sentiment writer Lauren Lyons expresses in a piece at the Huffington Post. She speaks openly about how she sometimes thinks the struggles in her life are an anomaly because of everyone else's positive updates on Facebook. Lyons encourages people to share their setbacks in order to establish a supportive environment for people who need it.
So many Facebook status updates are about that new job, what a wonderful wedding you had, how great that concert was last night. "Weekend trip with the girls was amazing! Thanks Vegas!" 50 likes. 19 comments. Maybe it's just a function of my friend list, but whenever something not-so positive comes up, it's crickets. "I'm having a really tough time finding a job right now." 0 likes. 2-3 comments, mainly "hang in there!" or " :( " But mostly, it's clear that while those same 50 people who liked that Vegas status saw the job one, that was not something they chose to interact with, even though it would have been far more valuable.
By prioritizing engagement with "success posts," we perpetuate this online culture of vast insecurity, and thus, a lack of space for expression of failure. As pastor and author Steven Furtick famously said, "The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel."
Read Lauren Lyons' entire piece at the Huffington Post.
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