the social network

i don't need 500 'friends' to make overwhelmingly exaggerated comments about every photo i upload on facebook just so i can feel good about myself and believe i've achieved some sort of pseudo-popularity in the online world, which some people might naively believe translates into the real world.

i hate to be the one to break the bad news, but honey, that's NOT how things work in real life.

with a social networking platform like facebook, there are cases where your self-worth becomes a direct variation of how many people post on your wall per day, like your photos and tell you you're pretty or beautiful, danger lies in the superficial yet inevitable suggestion that your self-worth is intrinsically linked to your appearance. the more 'friends' you accumulate or flattering comments you get, the higher your self-worth, and vice versa, the less friends/comments/attention you garner on facebook, the lower your self-worth.

unlike some people, i don't feel the need to upload 200 profile pictures of myself looking almost identical in every frame or post mindless/vacuous comments at 15 minute intervals, just so i can prove to the world that i am an interesting slash opinionated/fashionable invidivual who happens to pose in front of the camera incessantly (in different assembles each time) and has nothing better to do than to keep facebook logged in at all times of the day.

when you realise that facebook has become a statement of your self-value, then you are in deep trouble, for your 'witty/interested/popular' identity exists solely in the cyberworld, while the you that walks/talks/breathes is nothing but an empty shell.