Day 190: Keeping Up With the Virtual Jones'

Is Facebook the new keeping up with the Jones’? Is it actually necessary for us to post all of our daily activities online? I am as guilty as everyone else, I didn’t have much of a filter before Facebook and now it is even easier to bare my soul to the world, virtual or otherwise. Funny updates are always good, enlightening updates are also appreciated, but do we need to know that you’re navigating a public restroom or out to dinner with friends? The more I think about the FB epidemic, the more I perceive it as our current way of competing with one another. It used to be bigger homes, nicer yards, a better car – these were our methods of gauging our personal success. Now, we compare weekend plans, vacations, children’s photos and love lives all courtesy of that little status bar beckoning us to share.

I feel the pressure, but still straddle the line on a daily basis. I certainly do not want to post embarrassing moments or unattractive photos of myself (as a woman who tends to be very unphotogenic, there are lots of those in existence) so I opt for cute and/or skinny photos. Still, I think it’s sometimes funny to mock myself, so I’m game to put up goofy or retro, big-hair and shoulder pad photos too. I am just as narcissistic as the next insecure, shallow woman, but I recognize it about myself so at least I approach it with a sense of humor. There are those days, however, when I read the updates of my friends and feel like I’m not living up to the exciting lifestyle they are pursuing. Unlike Evan and his girl, I am not constantly hitting the slopes or living my own personal mini X-games life. Nor am I hitting the latest music scene in the Bay area or even navigating the commuters of my beloved NYC.

Facebook makes me a little bit envious of all of you. Yes, your family is beautiful, your trip looks like a dream vacation, your hobbies more exciting than shots at the pub. I read what you are doing and think how can I possibly compete? Every day I find myself searching for the exciting, entertaining or at the very least, mildly amusing, anecdote in my daily events. I’m not looking to lie or elaborate, I just want to seem as cool as all of you. So while in the past, we worried about what car the Jones’ had in their driveway, these days I’m not even sure if you have a car, but I know exactly what your dinner plans are and I have to admit, I’m a little jealous.