How many of these photos did you get over the holidays?
I received about 80… along with detailed Year in Review newsletters on fancy winter-themed stationery.
Yesterday, I finally got around to putting away all those photos. Nearly seven dozen pictures of friends and family members showing off their pearly whites.
As I stored the photo cards and newsletters I couldn’t help but think about how happy they all looked.
Look at all those happy faces. Just so darn happy, happy, happy.
Man, that’s a lot of happiness in one shot.
Boy, what great lives they must lead.
What happy, happy, joyful, better than my life, lives they must lead.
You get the picture.
Bitter? Me? Not a chance. I’m too busy counting my blessings.
At the top of my thankful list: I’m so glad I’m not on Facebook.
Apparently, Facebook users have to stare at adorably cute, perpetually happy photos of friends and family on a daily (if not hourly) basis.
Now, that would really send me over the edge.
Just kidding.
Maybe.
Sort of.
Not really.
According to a new study, Facebook fans, who are exposed to a constant barrage of cheerful, upbeat, smile-infested photos of other people’s families, tend to be despondent and think that life is not fair.
Ah, the trappings of social media.
The study conducted by Utah Valley University found that the more time that is spent culling through other people’s Facebook photos, the more we (and by “we,” I mean you) believe that life is uneventful and unfair.
According to ABC News, researchers interviewed 425 adults and asked them whether they agreed or disagreed with statements such as, “Many of my friends have a better life than me,” and “Life is fair.” Then, researchers documented how much time each of the study participants spent on Facebook, how many friends they had and whether they actually knew these “friends.”
The results: “Those who have used Facebook longer agreed more that others were happier, and agreed less that life is fair, and those spending more time on Facebook each week agreed more that others were happier and had better lives,” wrote the study’s authors. “Furthermore, those that included more people whom they did not personally know as their Facebook “friends” agreed more that others had better lives.”
Kind of makes you think twice before posting those photos of your recent trip to Hawaii, huh?
Or not.
After all, who’s going to post photos of Junior having a meltdown on the beach because a wave swallowed his shovel and he hasn’t acclimated to the time zone change? Moreover, what parent would willingly display images of her teen flipping her off because the little ingrate is tired of getting his mug snapped?
C’mon, this is Facebook; a vehicle to show the world pictures of your deliciously cute kid and her new front tooth or the shot of your four adorable offspring smiling brightly in front of the Grand Canyon. Never mind that the kids are grinning because you threatened to take away their iPods, cell phones and video games if they didn’t.
Who really needs to know the truth behind the smiles?