SHARE
if your
kids/husband/sister/mum/dad/brother/sister/half-sister/cousin-twice-removed/facial-mole-once-removed/surfboard/boss/the-TV-show-Friends/smartphone are the best thing to
ever happen to you.
No! I take that back. Don’t share! For the sake of
everyone’s mental health, please just do not share. It drives me bananas each
and every time I see a message pop up on social media inviting me to share said
message if I love the people in my life. SHARE if I think child abuse is evil.
SHARE if I think animal abuse is evil. SHARE if my sister is my best friend.
SHARE if my partner is my soul mate. SHARE to end war. SHARE. SHARE. SHARE! Arrrrrrrrrgh!
On a weekly basis messages such as this pass from my
computer screen and enter my brain like a guilt guided missile. Because I know
that if I don’t share that message that means I am one selfish ass. And when
the people in my social network see that I haven’t shared when they so
obviously have, they too will also know that I am a truly crummy person, thus
placing them on a high pedestal in life. Show offs!
Okay, that last bit is probably wildly inaccurate and
a tad bit over the top. I’m sure that my friends and acquaintances, really
don’t have the time to check if I have shared the message, so are not really
spending their day judging me for such things, but sweet Jesus, it doesn’t
change the fact that this share phenomena is causing me all kinds of inner
turmoil. If I don’t share then I’m implying I don’t care about people, animals
and world peace, which is so not the case. I want nothing but the best for the
planet and everyone living on it.
On the flipside if I share one of those messages it’s
got to be because I want to share and not because I’ve been bullied into sharing.
Essentially if I press share then I will have done it, not because those things
are true, but because I have to prove that I too am a good person. Share.
Click. See everyone, I’m one of the good, and you can’t say I’m not because I
shared this message. So can you see how a simple message of love and supposed
empathy can be turned into a message of self-doubt and nagging guilt?
So the next time you receive one of those share
messages, before you hit share, ask yourself am I doing this because I want to,
or because I have something to prove. And if you are sharing that message,
think about all those people who are going to receive that message and are
going to wonder what you’re trying to prove.
Rant over. Ooh, look at that. I got another share.
What will I do?
