“I don’t want to see this”, I click.  Facebook asks me why.  Am I offended by the content? Do I find it inappropriate? Is it spam? No on all counts.  Sometimes, I just don’t want to see how great other people feel.  Sometimes, I’m quite happy not having the highlights of other peoples’ lives constantly shoved in my face.  Sometimes, I just don’t want to buy into the illusion.

Nobody is perfect.  No relationship is as happy as Facebook pictures and statuses misguide you into believing.  Nobody is as happy, social, skinny, or whatever it is that you may think while perusing (read: stalking) other peoples’ profiles.

Studies have shown that facebook (and other social media outlets) can cause depression.  In a world where we are constantly using the superficial lives of others as our measuring stick, it’s hard to really live up to these (false) ideals.

I’m guilty of it too.  I look like my profile picture maybe 10% of the time.  I untag pictures that are unflattering and I only update my status when something positive happens.

So next time you hide a post, don’t worry, you’re not the only one that does this.  And facebook, you may want to add “I don’t want to fall into a spiral depression because of others” to your reasons for not wanting to see posts.

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