People who post their fitness stuff on FB, etc, have mental issues

chocolate_owl wrote: »

Cutaway_Collar wrote: »

AskTracyAnnK28 wrote: »

mskessler89 wrote: »

I stopped using Facebook when I graduated college because it had evolved from being a way for me to stay in touch with my friends to a platform where people try to sculpt their lives to look as perfect as possible. [/b]Because everyone's friends' lists had started including coworkers, last week's hookup, and that person they met at Coachella 3 years ago and never talked to again, no one was "real" anymore.

Still, I don't think it's always narcissistic to enjoy being praised, and social media makes it really easy to get compliments. And I gotta admit, I started posting on MFP a lot more when the Like/Awesome buttons appeared. Internet validation can really make you feel better some days.

OMG this, too!! I started using Facebook when I moved back to my hometown in hopes of re-connecting with old friends, etc. Now I find it tedious because people are trying to convince themselves and the world that their lives are just so perfect

@Cutaway_Collar - I know a man who's Facebook was loaded with pics of "date night with the wife" and all the while he's was having a long-term affair with someone.

That's terrific. It only proves the theory then. I also like how kessler said they are scripting their life. Completely agreed. They only say positive things. But I actually have to say some couples also fight publicly which provides good entertainment.

The real drawback of all this is it creates peer pressure. My wife has asked me a few times why my engagement was so low key compared to that coworker's. I showed up at her apartment with a ring at around 9:30pm. No cameras flashed, no videos, no fanfare. That guy... He assembled friends and family in a restaurant and before 50 people and other strangers... He pops the question and video went up on FB within an hour. My wife watched it a few times and got jealous.

My wife didn't make a big deal but she has fretted in the past that I didn't do enough. I snapped her out of the thought. But the very fact that such guys cause issues for others is unfortunate. Some mothers make other mothers feel lacking. Rich guys make poor guys feel like *kitten* when they post bills on the date night. Yes, some guys do that. It's the state of the world and the only comfort we can feel is that the braggers actually feel "hollow" inside and they know it and they also know and fear others may know it too.

UGH Facebook engagements. T and I got engaged while we were laying on the couch talking about the future. He asked me to marry him, I said yes. There was no ring, no hidden photographer, no group of people waiting to celebrate with us. Logically, I realize this was perfect - two adults making a decision about wanting to share their lives together without any emotional pressure from other people. But when people started asking me how he asked and I couldn't give them some big story or direct them to Facebook for the photos, it felt crappy. I know some brides-to-be on my wedding forum felt like they were disappointments or failures for not being able to afford a big, elaborate wedding. I think Facebook has made all the engagement/wedding competition and expectations waaaaaay worse.

Eurgh indeed. My now-husband and I had discussed getting married and we'd agreed that we'd do it in the next year or two. But he felt A ‘proper’ proposal was appropriate. So he proposed in a very significant place to us, (albeit public). My first response was ‘get up you daft bugger’ then followed by ‘yes I will marry you’. Then we had a lovely dinner by ourselves, and called our immediate relatives and a few close friends. It did go on Facebook later but with a very quiet ‘well this happened’.

Some other friends I wonder about, they got engaged shortly after us, and we’ve been married for a couple of years now, and she’s still posting frequent updates of ‘only 792 days before I’m Mrs….’ To her 400+ friends, where it turns into a discussion about the wedding, and I know full well she’s not going to invite them all. Meanwhile another friend is getting married soon and it’s all DIY, and even though she’s got very talented friends pitching in and she has small laments about if only she had more money. Because competition is everywhere.

Worst for me is humblebragging. I've just unfollowed some guy who just learned to cook and posts stuff like:

Aww I wonder how I will *kitten* up the Sesame Ginger Vermicelli Salad with homemade noodles this time I hope it doesn't go wrong like the vegan gluten-free chia-quinoa-quiche with 12 sorts of vegetables I made yesterday. I mean, actually it was quite good, but maybe there was a BIT much onion in there.

Urgh. Yeah, we get how amazing you are to try those oh so sophisticated recipes as a beginner and provide us with pictures of how messy the kitchen was and how great you did anyway, but actually nobody cares, and it's not cute either. *unfollow*

Luckily I don't have many people who post overly serious and/or personal achievement stuff to brag. It almost always has a disgusting touch to it. I actually love reading/hearing about people's achievements but the facebook bragging tone makes it disgusting.

I had some people showing up in my feed because my friends liked stuff from them, their posts were about their work. "Oh it's soo stressful at my dream job right now and my work is a bit flawed but here, all have a look at it, and by the way, carpe diem!" No thanks! *block*

There are so many people complaining about sexist/religious/political posts on their feeds they hate to see, but I don't get why anyone would have to deal with it. Just unfollow/block the *kitten* out of this until you only have things on your dash you actually like. Done.

Edit: When I spent 3 weeks with my ex (our first meeting) his and my friends were asking us why we didn't upload 2842838 FB photos of us, enjoying our time.

Ehm, because we were actually busy ENJOYING all this stuff and didn't give a crap if anybody else sees proof of it?

PS - people who write long posts in reply to this post are only do so to defend their narcissistic behavior. Thou dost protest too much!