Being Popular on Facebook Is Not What It's Cracked Up to Be

I remember the good old days when one could brag about having 20 close friends within their social circle and they'd actually be telling the truth. Nowadays, you're not considered "popular" unless you have several HUNDRED people on your friends list on Facebook. Really?! Is that what our society has come to? How many lemmings we can get to follow our updates on Twitter or how many random strangers will accept our friend requests on Facebook and other social networking sites. When did one's entire social identity become so wrapped up in what someone has to say about your status update?

We live in an age of extreme self importance as displayed in the following NBC News article. When you start to believe there are people out there in cyberspace that are actually waiting with bated breath for your next status update about eating mac 'n cheese then you need to seek psychiatric help. Better yet, you need to take a step back from social networking in general and reevaluate your life. Truth be told, I don't care about the mundane aspects of the lives of my Facebook friends. The only information I enjoy reading is the news of engagements, weddings, births of children, professional and academic achievements, etc. You know? Significant life events that require celebration in all forms of social interaction. I expect my friends feel the same way about my status updates. Nobody cares that I'm upset Ben Affleck got snubbed for a Best Director nomination for the Academy Awards. Nor do my Facebook friends be bothered if I never reposted another puppy meme. I don't consider myself so relevant that people are hanging on my every word online.

Us mere mortals aren't the only ones guilty of using the internet to inflate our already over-inflated egos. Celebrities are the biggest offenders of the Me Me Me epidemic that is social media. Guess what, Kim Kardashian, I don't give two hoots on your thoughts of Middle East political relations. Your ignorant tweets on the subject are evidence enough that you have no clue what the hell you're talking about! Yet, people like Kim K. are deluded enough to believe their "fans" actually want to hear their opinion on everything. To make matters worse, there are people who sit back and ENJOY reading that crap!

I find it particularly sad how upset someone will get if you don't consider social media the end all, be all of life interactions. My boyfriend recently put a meme on his Facebook that apparently upset the delicate balance of the fragile psyche of one of his friends. This person went on to rant about studies that show how popularity on Facebook correlates to how popular one is in real life. I responded by instructing him to do a status update asking his "friends" if he can borrow five dollars and see how many of them respond with a yes.   It's just a social networking site. It's not some life affirming prophecy. In other words, it isn't that damn serious!