Her friend posted a photo with her eyes closed and a beer in her hands; She must be a drunk. He shared a funny meme making fun of Donald Trump’s hair; He must be a Democrat. She retweeted a quote about women having to stand up for their rights; She must be a crazy feminist. He shared an article about the war in Syria; He must be very involved in world politics. She liked a picture of a baby with carrots coming out its nose; She must want to have kids.
Sometimes the things we see on social media can misconstrue the view that we have of the person that is involved with it. There is this wall up where we think we know who that person is based on what they post/like, but in reality, that doesn’t necessarily have to say anything about who that person is. While we can get a good vibe from the things we see, there are times when we misunderstand who that person really is. Just because we follow each other on social media doesn’t mean we really know each other.
In the days before social media, we had to have conversations with people in order to try to get to know them. Today all we have to do is pull up their Facebook page to see what they are interested in. Look at their Twitter to see what articles they have retweeted. Hop on to Instagram to see what photos they may have liked or what photos they may have posted of their lunch. There are so many different social media platforms that we can indulge in an attempt to get to know someone, without ever really knowing them.
With some people, that is exactly who they are. They post literally anything and everything about their daily life. From the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep, you know what they have had for breakfast to their opinion on the best type of diaper rash cream that they have used on our child’s behind. Those are the ones that let everyone know exactly who they are. They will let you know when something pisses them off or when they are happy about something in life. Those are the people that you feel like you know too much about, without seeing them behind a computer screen.
And then there are those that post very little but observe. They sit back and secretly judge those that talk about their baby daddy issues or the amount of coupons just used at the grocery store. They are there to see what is newsworthy and read the articles that people share. They are the ones that you may see like something once in awhile, but they are more reserved. They are more private and only post when the time is right.
Whichever type of person you are, that doesn’t mean that you know these people. Without getting out there into the world and meeting these people one on one, you can’t say that you know them. You can’t say just because they liked a photo of Tom Brady that they must be a huge fan of the Patriots or that they shared an article about climate change so they must be a huge natural activist. Before you go onto someone’s social media, make sure that you are keeping an open mind and not judging them. Get to know the actual person before you make a judgment call.
Featured image via Kayla Farmer on Unsplash
