Facing Up To It

Social media isn't real. It's a toy and a tool. Nothing more. It's not life. I know some sad individuals who brag about how many "friends" they have and make comparisons asking, "how many friends do you have?" and then tell you their four figure stats. Friends? AYK? They are faces, not friends. With a tiny, even accidental tap, you can gain or unfriend those faces. You can make thousands of friends by friending the friends of those friends, or so-called ones. It is sad when I hear that some people even communicate with the faces of these strangers, and make comments on their sites when they have no idea who that face truly is. They are overjoyed when the face, answers. They build a fantasy with the faces, thinking they are friends or will become friends, even potential lovers. They examine their Friend sites carefully and take great interest in what they see. They go through all of the photos and messages. Their imaginations expand the text with the photo shot so that they feel they have, indeed, made a friend. They ignore the fact that the real lives behind the faces are not always the truth about the face that goes with the text. The whole piece can be nothing but a fantasy. Even though there are requirements of the site, no one checks unless there is a complaint. The whole face site could be mere speculation and broad fiction. A fantasy can be created by some user people to fog out the loneliness of their days. This can reach dangerous levels when their fantasies turn into hopes that the face in the photo is someone they actually know through the site, and are in their real world. Sometimes they begin to message their dream faces so that they might meet them. This kind of situation turns social media into a dating site, but one with no protections. The results can turn into bad situations. It's often what you read about in police reports of scams. Social media sites are great for passing on news to your real world friends but thinking that it will make actual friends is a big stretch. Friends are people you know in real time and life. They aren't a face and a few chosen photos. I have a real friend who must be reminded gently that the media faces are not real people whom she knows. They are pictures only and not all reliable. Those one knows, are the ones who live across the street or the hall or in the neighbourhood. You see them often and speak with them and visit with them  on real terms. The faces on social media are two dimensional only. You know nothing about their backgrounds or status or personalities or lifestyles. They could be criminals or scammers or emotionally unstable people or perhaps not the picture you see at all, but one modified or of someone completely different. We have, in this world today, to face up to facts not iffy fictional "friends" on a website with millions of faces world wide. Some do not want to face up to the facts.  These are the lonely people: "all the lonely people; where do they all come from?"