Happy Facebook posts are not a lie

Here is a random opinion piece. I don't do all that many that aren't related to missions or language or Mozambique. This one is my Facebook opinion.

Some people seem to think that Facebook is about sharing your best side and tricking people into believing that life is all rosy. I don't agree. I share mostly happy and beautiful things on my Facebook wall. I sometimes share a grumble or a sad note. I sometimes complain, but I try to keep that to a minimum. 

Think about it: What do you put on your wall at home? Family portraits? Holiday photographs? Your kitchen calendar might have a picture of a lovely scene or inspirational theme. Your fridge is full of magnets from businesses you like, holding schedules and coupons and drawings your kid did. Anyone visiting your house will see what is important to you. You clean up and shove a few things into the closet to make your place more inviting. You aren't denying that there are dirty dishes in the dishwasher or piles of laundry hidden out of sight. 

You just don't highlight those things. 

You just don't focus on the negatives when you invite someone in. 

You spiff up your room, squirt some air-freshener, and check the mirror before you open your door and smile. 

That's ok. Facebook is our new living room. Respect your guests by welcoming them in. Respect yourself by keeping quiet when it doesn't help. We don't visit people anymore. We peek at their walls and updates and we like and smile at their stories and cry with them when they share sad news. We get angry together about injustice. We rejoice at the triumph of the under-dog. We stared glued to the video of cute kittens. That's ok, too. 

I like Facebook. I can share bits of my life with my family and friends who live really far away. If they want all the nitty-gritty stories of disappointment and pain, they will write to me and we can share that personally. They do.