The world is definitely a different place than the one I grew up in back in the 1960's-1970's. The only way we had to share memories about family gatherings, awards in school, or vacations was to take 12, 24, or 36 pictures on a roll of Kodak film, and then drop them off to be developed. A week or so later, you picked up your pictures and then after going through them to weed out the ones you accidently took of your foot or an upside-down landscape shot, you had a set of memories ready to be shared. To share them meant you most likely had additional copies made to mail to family or friends. Note, I said mail not email. The mail would take a good 3 to 5 days to reach its destination, where after taking in the captured moment of joy to share, the recipient would most likely pick up the rotary dial corded phone and ask their questions about how much you enjoyed the trip, or inquiries about the award, party, vacation, etc... That was definitely then, this is now.
Today, if we don't immediately post a snap or upload photos onto our social media pages, it feels like we are sharing outdated info that happened like earlier that day. Really?? Not only are we sharing pretty much every smile, step, and meal that we are a part of, we are altering those pictures to remove blemishes, distractions, and even others we don't want to spotlight in our altered reality. Is it not bad enough that most pictures coming from an event are staged to assure the hair looks perfect, the background is stunning, and the event is beaming with happy faces and fun times. The only problem with this type of altered reality is it isn't real!
I remember picking up a set of pictures after returning from a vacation once when I was in my 20's and almost every picture in the pack was of an upside-down view of the street I was walking down, and some were of a blackish gray view of the backpack I was carrying my camera in. You know what? Those messed up photos of what appeared to be nothing but wasted print and money revived some of the best smiles and laughs from what I remembered was going on at the times those photos were being snapped, or maybe I should say clicked.
Point is, too often today people only want to share the glamorous moments that have been basically manufactured to appear perfect before they are sent out around the world in an instant snap or post. If everything needs to appear perfect does it truly reflect reality? When was the last perfect vacation you experienced? Aren't the hiccups that happen what we laugh about later as we reflect on the trip? I've cooked up some pretty good meals, but I'm not so sure I've ever organized my plate to take a picture of it so it is absolutely appealing to everyone who sees what I'm having for dinner tonight. Start factoring in the ability to soften your hair, remove a facial scar, lighten the color of your eyes, thin out your waist, and elongate your body and you can create a masterpiece! Never mind the surrounding that can be manipulated and the staging of people that takes place or the outcome of multiple retakes until we get the right one where everyone is smiling on the outside regardless of what is happening on the inside. Is this the new reality? Is reality destined to be filtered before it is shared? If so is it even really reality?
I would encourage us all to stop and take an inventory of what we share on social media and what the intent of what we share is. We can spend a great deal of time shaping a reality that we want everyone to see, but at the end of the day, who are we trying to impress and why are we trying to impress them in the first place? Regardless of what we share with the world and no matter how we shape our lives to be the reality we want others to see, we will never escape the view that our God has of our life and how we are living it out. I Corinthians 13:12 states that, “Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" In other words, what we see now is like a shallow reflection of what the true reality is, but in time we will be known fully because God sees us completely nothing hidden.
Just a suggestion, the next time you go out with the intent of posting some pictures from a gathering, event, or maybe even from the dinner table snap a few that are really real. Nothing altered, nothing left out and then maybe you will be sharing a true reflection of you, your family, or those involved in your pictures. Say Cheese!
Coach Carter
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