I have written posts about the idea that comparison is the thief of joy and that social media sites like Facebook make us to compare our day to day to other people’s “highlight reels.” Many people have written great posts on this topic. I have had friends who read my blog and Facebook page tell me how happy I seem all of the time. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy and I am certainly grateful for the opportunities that I have. Those are the things I show on Facebook and highlight here.
This week I wrote a post on things women should do as a response to the Huffington Post’s 23 Things Every Woman Should Stop Doing. One of the things to stop doing was: 8. Obsessively untagging every “unflattering” photo of you that ever existed online (or in the affirmative: Remember that “unflattering” photo commemorates an occasion and unless it is truly awful, let it be.) My friend Christine asked “does anyone really untag themselves in photos?” Um. Well. Yes. I not only untag photos, but I edit out experiences entirely.
I got some photos back from the Run 10 Feed 10 10K in Chicago. I must admit, I usually hate what these photos look like. But this time I had some really great ones. I look strong, slim, have good form and there is no one near me. Yay. [Note: this was not a competitive race!]
My friend Pam asked me to help her test out some lighting at dusk near the lake for a photo shoot she had planned. She sent me this cute photo:
Normally, these would be the photos I would post and, yes, that would be the highlight reel version – end of story. As I said in the title of this post, this blog IS my highlight reel. However, I was struck by how in my Run 10 Feed 10 photos, there were 2 in a row. One looked great and one looked terrible. In the second one, I am landing and all of my weight is forward – even my face looks more wrinkled. Then, Pam sent me the higher resolution version of this photo and sent the wrong one inadvertently. Same set, different angle and let’s just say it is not my best angle.
I could not stop thinking about how I always edit out unflattering photos just like I leave out some of the less desirable things that happen to me (or times when I feel less optimistic) in this blog. So, I am outing myself. I am going to show you the less flattering photos, too. Why? Because it is all part of the big picture. Everyone has a good angle, a good photo and happy news to share. But real people edit out the unflattering stuff. This blog is my highlight reel, but I have the unflattering stuff, too. It is what makes me a real person.
Do you show only your “highlight reel” on social media? Is a less flattering picture OK to document an important experience? Do you like knowing that the bloggers you read are real people??