When the social media bubble burst for me

Iam in the prime of life, where my children have grown up, my daily schedule has eased out, and I have the luxury of time. My first thought was to catch up with all my friends, but soon I realised, that they were quite busy. However, they were available on social media.

So, lo and behold, I enrolled myself in the course of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, with my daughter being my professor, tutor and guide. Little did I know that the rollercoaster ride that I had hopped on to, was a bit more than I had bargained for.

The start was exciting. Within a day, I had more than a 100 friends on Facebook. This was perhaps the first time in recent years that I had cared about my looks while selecting my profile photo. Oodles of love and compliments poured in from all quarters. I almost had a complaint against my husband for not noticing the beauty in me.

My daughter gave me the first lesson. Nobody ‘looks bad’ on social media. You should react in superlatives like fabulous, stunning and gorgeous. She was right. When I opened others’ profile, they were all a part of one big happy family. Ideal son, doting daughter, awesome husband and even the perfect boss!

Surrounded by so many fashionistas and intellectuals, I got a complex. Everyone was pouring their heart out. They would tell you what they eat and where they go. Come June, and everyone was on a holiday and it seemed everyone was at the airport. They would be kind enough to tell you where the best coffee is available and invariably it was in the cup in their hands.

Lesson 2: Social websites have reminders and throwbacks popping up in your face all the time, so one is supposed to be a Mr/Ms Know-all. If you miss wishing others, be ready to be trolled and ‘unfriended’ by your stunning friend.

Instagram and WhatsApp were equally challenging. Here I had to be quirky and ravishing in every post. The number of likes decided my popularity. I also started getting comments from strangers. I prayed to God to save me from this dubious recognition. I would rather live in oblivion than have my life displayed in public.

The biggest casualty was the English language, which was sacrificed at the beginning of a conversation (convo). Sorriiee, sup, pics, omg, waddup, vacay mode, etc were normal words. My professor in command told me that the sooner I get comfortable with this lingo, the better. Otherwise, I’d end up being labelled a “linguistic leper”.

By the time I realised that I was not cut out for this chapter, it was too late. The feeling of well-being created by these social websites remained confined to a bubble in our lives. I have miserably failed in this course, and I miss the old syllabus of socialising.

Earlier, it was all about going out in the fresh air and meeting the same people who now exist in a virtual world. My endeavour is to interact with them in the real world. Hence, I am going on a sabbatical, far away from the wi-fi zone. Now my dilemma is, whether I should post it on my account, #goingonasabbatical#. Though I’m sure no one will miss me, at least they won’t be offended when I don’t respond to their posts.

COMPLIMENTS POURED IN AND I ALMOST HAD A COMPLAINT AGAINST MY HUSBAND FOR NOT NOTICING THE BEAUTY IN ME