In the kingdom of Facebook we are all happy. Our lives are full of glamour, beauty, travel, recognition, perfect families, sexy little dances, ‘positive’ messages and above all, smiling faces. Always smiling. Because Facebook is the showcase of our vanities, the perfect canvas where the ego paints its best portrait. A social Disneyland where you are only allowed to be part of the magic.
But if you scratch the painting a bit you’ll start to see the cracks, the blemishes, the dirt under the rug. That which we hide because it is politically incorrect to show our problems, our daily struggles, our small failures and frustrations. Facebook is designed to be “successful” and attractive. To compete in the stock market of social presumption.
According to the portal statista.com, in 2023 Facebook continues to lead the ranking of social networks with close to 2.960 million active users. An immense virtual population where you can find all kinds of creeds, nationalities, interests, phobias and a wide sociological spectrum.
It would be idle to make a typology of the fauna that inhabits this social network, but as the crow flies there are the girls who seek validation by showing their bulges, those who emphasize the beauty of their marriage, those who boast about their trips to exotic destinations, the who shake the roost with their political comments, those who share memes, those who send prayers, those who get itchy with the generous source of ceviche and well-frozen chelas, those who show off their professional trophies and other subspecies.
Facebook is designed to be “successful” and attractive. To compete in the stock market of social presumption. Luis Fernando Quintanilla.
The truth is that it is difficult to escape the charm of Facebook. The likes and comments stimulate dopamine and serotonin in most of us. Why deny it? Instant gratification is like a drug that drives us to keep posting those glorious moments in our lives that will be gone in a few days.
Another interesting aspect is who your “friends” are on Facebook. The harsh reality, no more than ten. The rest are acquaintances, friends of your friends or illustrious guests with whom you have never crossed a word. It doesn’t matter. The more followers, the more popularity. Or at least, that seems to be the reasoning of many Internet users. Women bill, men watch. After all, who doesn’t enjoy their 15 minutes of fame?
Of course, not everything is bad on Facebook. The sarcasm of some publications makes me particularly happy, certain useful tips in the Shorts, I surrender to the serene contemplation of the beauty of some muses that expose their attributes for free or I learn about history in some specialized pages. And it is possible that you will also find a good offer in Marketplaceand even make a close contact of the third type with the girl or the boy who moves the floor for you.
I would like to elaborate on this exciting subject, but I am afraid that I have to upload a selfiee –filter through– of my last trip. My heart races. I can’t wait another second for the waterfall likes and comments that will lift my weak self-esteem to the top.
PS Dear Mark Zuckerberg, please don’t ban me from Facebook. I was just kidding… ????
Luis Fernando Quintanilla
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