Life… through the lens of social media

The other day as I was idly scrolling down my Facebook newsfeed, I came across several photos of friends – many of them old friends of mine whom I hadn’t met in years except the odd chat over the phone and, that too, very infrequently. Some were celebrating their wedding anniversary and looked the picture of bliss and happiness. Some were holidaying in an exotic, scenic destination. Still others were flashing satiated grins before a lavish spread in a glitzy restaurant somewhere. As expected all photos were very well liked and had attracted plenty of congratulatory and other comments. My eyes lingered long on those photographs and those happy faces continued to pop in my mind all through the day. Till I saw those pictures, I had been fairly content and planning my workday enthusiastically. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against my happy friends. But such images make you pause, often flick you on the raw, rip open your own carefully camouflaged wounds and damage control can often be a slow process.

I found myself sinking into the familiar abyss of distressing thoughts, mulling over the painful what-ifs, the highs and lows from my own life flashing before my eyes. There were many happy days interspersed with not-so-happy moments, but the latter had the power to alter the topography of your very existence.

At the risk of sounding horribly clichéd, I think all of us dream of that perfect life – a caring and understanding spouse who also nurtures you emotionally and spiritually, a comfortable home and happy, healthy kids (or, rather kid, given our propensity to one-child families these days). Some get it all and more; some get just a portion; while some get nothing at all.  

And even when the cracks appear or wishes remain unfulfilled or deadlocked in a tug-of-war, you kind of chug along stoically, accepting it as your ‘fate’. The pursuit of happiness has long taken a backseat to the pursuit of mere survival. You remind yourself of the countless other things in your life that you should be grateful for, and even as the battered self-worth is just about healing, along comes social media and thrusts in your face all that you yearned for but never managed to have. The carefully constructed barricade crumbles a bit, and as raw emotions get exposed, the shrapnel of reality dig in hard. You wince, you shrivel up a bit and try not be ungracious in begrudging someone else their happiness. 

I know many of my friends who, like me, tend to take social media photos purely at their face value and indulge in (needless) negative comparisons. Gosh, how are all those people so happy and sorted? Did we somehow miss our share of ‘happy hours’ when Someone Up There was doling it out?  

These conflicting feelings, the roller coaster impressions and the flashback that ensues continue for some time (and even days) before normal routine once again throws its mundane albeit comforting duvet over you and you carry on living again….till the next social media thrust!