Oh my goodness, people on social media are so annoying! AM I RIGHT?

Oh my goodness, people on social media are so annoying! AM I RIGHT?

Has your news feed been full of 30 Days of Thankfulness posts? How about solicitations for Elf on the Shelf Ideas? Children selling seemingly unnecessary items for school/boy scouts/girl scouts fundraisers? Is someone celebrating an anniversary with their “best friend”?

Here’s, typically, what I see in my feed – someone makes a post listing something they’re thankful for, it gets lots of likes and comments. I scroll down. Someone else has made a post about how ridiculous or braggadocios thankful posts are, it gets lots of likes and comments.

We’re all free to post and discuss whatever we like, of course, but how does one posting that they’re thankful for something negatively affect you, other than causing an eye-roll? What is so irritating  about someone posting something like, “So thankful my husband brought me coffee this morning”? But, it’s so irritating to some that a separate post needs to be made snarkily talking about how irritating it is, but not in a direct way, of course.

We don’t participate in Elf on the Shelf in my house and I have no plans to do so in the future. In my opinion, it doesn’t warrant a post proclaiming how I DO NOT PARTICIPATE BECAUSE…right? I mean it is possible to not crap all over something you don’t take part in. It’s also possible, and bear with me here because this can be a tough concept, to keep your opinion to yourself, especially in the all-too-often case that one is really just sharing their opinion as a swipe at others.

It can be argued that the primary purpose of Facebook is to fight with people from your past that you don’t/didn’t really like or know about things that don’t matter and subjects that are of little importance. I’m guilty of this. And I’ve been guilty of the passive-aggressive snark that I illustrated above. I’ve been on Facebook for about 10 years so I’ve cycled through nearly every one of these transgressions. I’ve called my husband my best friend. I’ve likely mocked someone else for doing the same. I’ve rolled my eyes at fundraising posts, only to later post things regarding my son’s fundraisers. And if you’re truly honest with yourself, you’ve probably done this too.

Life is hard. Times are uncertain. Things are stressful. Most people don’t know if they’re doing the right thing in parenting, career, life, etc. For many, myself included, Facebook is just an outlet. If someone wants to forget about their troubles for a minute and post about how thankful they are for something, even if it it’s a thinly-veiled humble brag, so be it. Maybe the person who’s posting about how much they love and cherish their spouse has just come through an extremely rocky period of their marriage. Or maybe, just maybe, that person really does love and cherish their spouse?

One of the most interesting things about other people is that you really don’t know where they’re coming from or what they’re dealing with. Someone else’s intent can be assumed/assigned on very little other than one’s own bias. I know this because I’ve done it. Being sarcastic and snarky comes a little too naturally for me, so I’ve made a concerted effort to stop doing things like this. The world doesn’t need more mean-spirited negativity. And it certainly doesn’t need more ways for women, particularly, to pick each other apart. 

Previous articleThankful Four
Next articleA Minimalist Christmas to Remember: Making Memories, Not Clutter
Ryan Mahoney
Ryan is a native of Pittsburgh. She was born and raised, and still lives in Beechview with her husband, son, and dog. She's a proud graduate of the Pittsburgh Public School System and later received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pittsburgh. For the last 13 years she's worked as a Technical Communication Specialist focusing on interface instruction, user experience, and user guidance for several software products. When she's not fulfilling the responsibilities of her day job, Ryan can be found listening to and obsessing over David Bowie - and passing that obsession on to her son. Ryan enjoys reading, picking through thrift stores and flea markets, movies, music, and exploring all of the great places Pittsburgh has to offer families.