And now for this week’s example of things that nobody thinks or actually says in real life, ever. Exhibit A: This video.
Not only is it extremely uncomfortable to watch, the sentiment, that most people are more likable on Facebook, is completely untrue.
Most people I know and love are much, much better humans in real life.
First, listen to the lyrics.
I check your status. I like your likes and I re- posted the link you posted on recyclable bikes. Then I met you at a party and it all went downhill from there.
I know it sounds weird to say, I blame it on the weird state of the world today, but I like you better. Oh, I like you better. Yeah I like you better on Facebook.
I like you better on Facebook. I like you better on Facebook. I like you better on Facebook.
You were smug and annoying. A big pretentious fart And you look nothing like your photos from that trip in March. I had to leave the party without finishing my beer.
I don’t want to end this way, I want to see where you tagged me yesterday. I like you better on Facebook. I like you better on Facebook.
In my experience, the opposite is absolutely true. Facebook brings out the worst in the people you love.
Put it this way, if we didn’t have Facebook we’d never know that cousin Susan was completely obsessed with the book Fifty Shades of Grey.
Or that friend Jim feels the need to bitch about his boss every single day until somebody responds.
Or that Rob from work can’t get enough of posting pictures of his dog sitting on the couch. You can insert your own examples.
The point here is that for all Facebook’s great qualities, there’s no question that it exposes most people’s ugly side. And it’s a side that without Facebook we would never have otherwise known.
Paul Kaan, a social media expert, told The Punch the more we use social media, the more these idiosyncrasies come out.
“Our openness and transparency is increasing the longer we’re on social media. And that means that it gets harder to create a false personality. Your true self just comes out,” Kaan said.
This true self isn’t necessarily reflected in your status updates, either.
Kaan said your personality shines through on items that you “like” or share and the people that you tend to post with on a regular basis. “That often means if you’re a superficial kind of person in the digital space, it usually follows that you are, at least to some degree, pretty superficial in real life,” he said.
How horrifying.
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