Series: I have a theory.

I have a theory. Facebook is for the happy people. But it is just a theory. And like any other theories, this deserves to be tested, proven, slandered, rethought about, rewritten. 

After months away from this awe(some/ful) social media, I cannot say I missed it. I have personal reasons to be away from this phenomena that everyone seems to be part of. And if I have so decided to just deactivate my account and walk away, and seem to be happily have taken a place in a world untouched by it, why pronounce it to be something for happy people. This is where my theory comes to play. I have an Instagram account where I post as happy pictures with thought provoking captions as possible. And I have my twitter account that has seen 18.9k of my erratic posts. And all these to an audience of strangers (and to a handful of friends and acquaintances). What is it about sharing about your life and thought processes to a bunch of people who you don’t really know in real life? What makes it so easy to express whatever primal thoughts you have to people who aren’t really a part of your life? What makes you throw bits of your being in words and pictures so carelessly to spectators who don’t know what history you have and where you have treaded? Well, the answer isn’t all that complicated as the questions are. It’s simple. You feel safe in the knowledge that you won’t be judged but will in its place be a subject of intrigue.

And why indeed would I say, those who put themselves up for display and hence to be judged by people they know are a bunch of happy people. May be this is where this theory needs to be tested. Part of the reason why I threw my hands up and quit facebook is because I got tired of knowing about things I didn’t want to know about. I absolutely hated the burden of information. My life tries me time and often and giving up facebook is one of the outcomes. If my life hadn’t been so complicated, perhaps I would still be around, announcing my whereabouts and bragging about the things I accomplished. If I had been happy at that time in my life, I would perhaps not have decided to walk away. I was not, so I turned my head around and looked the other way where I couldn’t know what was happening.

Is facebook really for the happy folks? Is it all for real or is it just an act? What is it about showing off to your “friends” that is so much of absolute necessity? As far as I can remember, I would post pictures whenever I went to places. I was the happiest when I travelled, and I would want people to know I was happy. And when I was unhappy, I’d keep it to myself. Don’t people always announce their happiness and hide what other feelings they might have? Mostly I suppose. Of all the people I asked why they use facebook, I got almost the same answer, ‘It keeps me updated about people’ Why is it so important that we keep tab on what is going on other people’s lives? Is it how we measure the level of happiness, of how successful one is? So are these facebook people really happy or feigning happiness or simply trying too hard for a show at happiness? I wonder. But who gives me the right to be so high and mighty, the non-user and judge people on what they do and why they do things. No one does. I am just a simpleminded person doing what she does; contemplating.