Friends, with all the love in my heart - truly - I offer this Public Service Announcement:
Unless your Friends List only includes a handful of people that you consider your closest, most trusted confidants, I strongly urge you to filter the level of intimate details you share about your emotions, insecurities, pain, disappointments, etc. (And how often you share, as well.) Not because they are invalid or unimportant, but rather because they ARE. And, frankly, social media is not the medium where your precious heart and struggles are going to be heard and handled in the way you desire.
You see, the majority of us have Friends Lists 90% consisting of casual friends and acquaintances. People we haven't seen in a decade. Didn't actually hang out with in high school. Sorta know from work or church or that one party or through another friend. Are these really the people you want to know the depths of despair and fear, anger and insecurity, and desperation you feel about life/your job/relationship/family and so on? They are incapable of the personal investment it takes to value you, and cherish your feelings well and appropriately - with understanding and grace. Chances are that, at best, many of them will read your most raw emotions and feel pity for you. And, at worst, they will feel contempt and disdain. I promise, neither of these responses are what you want from sharing the genuine struggles weighing on your heart and mind.
I encourage you to find a few friends that can be trusted to handle your heart and feelings with love and care. Confide in them privately. Lean on them for support and invite their perspective. Let true, real-life, 3-D friends love you through your stuff.
Otherwise someone is going to post the attached picture and be thinking about your soul-bearing status when they do. Who wants that?!
Praying for us all to be wise in who and how we share the most uncensored and fragile parts of who we are and the experiences we're surviving.
2 comments:
This is so true. And sadly, people use facebook for this kind of thing, sometimes, because they don't feel like there is anyone in real life who cares enough about them to value them as they should.
I have a times been guilty of this in the past. It took one reply that was so humiliating to me, that I took the post down. I worry about my upcoming girls becoming teens. I am already trying to come up with my "rules" about media. It is such a big part of our lives anymore, but I don't want to see my girls get wrapped up in big messes that I have seen with other teens. Thank you for this and I would love to post it on my page if you wouldn't mind. Love your wisdom and heart!
Post a Comment