Oh those comments. Oh my god, so many likes. Holy shit, she retweeted that. Gosh, how awesome. We love to be loved.
Boy, how we float on these ego boosting clouds. Twirling in those dreams with a pseudo-inflated sense of self worth, short-lived like the May fly and fluffy like those awesome pancakes that I did not have today morning. (Ok, I'm overdoing it with the similes).
But, for a select few, these notifications can mess with your head. Delude you into thinking you're unbelievably amazing. Even when you spent the whole day drinking beer, hurling, weeping in the bathroom and going off to sleep. Recognition is a drug. Popularity is one lovely spell. And slowly, it fades. So you want more. And you try harder to get there. Oh my god, must perfect these photos. Hello Photoshop. Take my dark circles away. And make me glow. Oh deal lord, must spend an hour thinking of the perfect status update. And if you fail, quote somebody famous, regardless of the level of influence that person or his/her life/achievements/words have on you.
But it's a double-edged sword, dears. If people can bring you up, they can bring you down. Newton said something to that effect in some law. If their boredom-induced attention can raise you up, their apathy can bring you crashing down. If they notice you, they'll notice others too. Competition. More attention. Less attention. Mood swings. Oh no, I lost a few followers. Must say cooler things. Must bleed my brains out and appear more fantastic.
You give away your secrets for a few more eye balls. You bare your empty brain so that a few less people are bored while they travel. You buy expensive cameras so that your tiaras look shiny and your lips more matte.
Stop. Moderation is the key. Don't let the mouse-pointer-clicks of fickle humans define who you are.
