Sometimes…and only sometimes…posting something on social media feels like a battle of competing interests.

I generally post things that reflect my feelings in the moment. To be told to “drop the towel” or “turn around”, while mostly flattering, can often feel deflating.

It leads me to wonder if it’s possible to post things and people either like them, dislike them or ignore them. But to instead be told what you should have posted instead feels…I don’t even have a word for it…

The knee-jerk word I’d reach for would be “invalidating”…but I don’t mean to suggest that purpose of the post in the first place is to be validated – so that doesn’t quite fit.

Ultimately, it feels like you’re being told “If you didn’t post your dick or ass…why’d you bother to post anything at all?”.

I suppose there’s a space for that. But I believe there should also be a space for people to express the various parts of who they are without it becoming fodder for co-option by other people’s agendas.

Literally the difference between traditional media and social media is that the former was culture influenced and mediated by a controlling group who decided what you should see…social media is a culture defined by what we choose to share and the motivation behind that sharing.

I think social media would have a less toxic association if our conversations were built on the strength of what was shared as opposed to what we would have preferred other people to have shared on their slice of the interwebs.