I went to see a comedian yesterday who really made me laugh, but who also got me thinking about social media and family. In his monologue, this comedian lamented the photos of family pancakes that one of his Facebook “friends” had posted on his timeline. The comedian in question made what I’d admit were some good jokes about how he had little, if any, interest in the famous pancakes of this distant acquaintance he hadn’t seen in X years. Well, I’ll admit that photos of pancake batter… personally, that’s not what would stop me from scrolling past for the 4th time.e I check my Facebook activity several times a day, but if anyone's interested, who am I to judge?
It reminded me of some other comments I’ve read or heard about photos or posts that are strictly family-related. Some people expressed frustration at seeing photos of children, posts detailing the exploits of the little ones in their lives, or cute things kids say that are meant to make people smile.
I'm not sure I understand this concept. As far as I'm concerned, Facebook is for showing off to others. It's for showing family members who aren't around every day your daughter's first steps; it's for making your loved ones laugh by telling them how your oldest tried to help you clean up a big mess with a tiny square of toilet paper.
For those who don’t have kids, I can understand that it might be annoying to see photos of kids on their news feed every week, but if I’m sick of seeing travel photos from my friends—those great explorers who travel around the world four times a year—while my last somewhat exotic trip was to Mexico six years ago, well, I can always stop following them and just browse their Facebook when the mood strikes me. I don’t feel the need to shout from the rooftops, “Look at this person trying to impress us—or trying to… I don’t even know.”
For me, Facebook is a tool for archiving photos, posting funny stories so that Facebook can remind me of them every year (because God knows it’s good at that), and sharing my joys and sorrows with those who are interested. As for the others, well...