Higher Ed Geek

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In Defense of Couples Who Profess Their Love on Social Media

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"...it’s not the responsibility of the people in your Facebook feed to stop succeeding...it’s on us as individuals to figure out how to be happy for other people’s happiness and not translate someone else’s success into our own personal failure...it’s not the responsibility of our Facebook friends to live smaller lives. It’s our responsibility to be bigger people."

I read this post a while ago from Hello Giggles about a recent study on how people react to those people we all know who overshare about how much they love their partners. It came to the obvious conclusion that people were adverse to those couples that gush about one another endlessly on social media. The answer there is simple; moderation.

What I really connected with in this article though was about how a lot of people are mad, sad, or upset when other people in their feeds are happy or doing well. It taps into this energy within us that embodies our jealousies, our doubts, our anxieties, and we focus on someone else's chosen way to express their happiness and we get angry that one of our friends is celebrating a success in their life. Shouldn't we be happy for our friends' happiness?

I certainly admit I struggle with this very thing so when I read this article, it definitely hit very close to home for me. In my ongoing quest for ultimate "zen status" where I am at peace with the world and everyone in it, I take this on as my next challenge. I'm going to not get jealous or envious when someone I care about is doing well. I am going to be glad and celebrate the joys of my friends and family, because there is no harm to me if those around me do well. We're all on the same team and we all just want to be loved, to be secure, and to be able to enjoy ourselves while we're on this massive spinning rock called Earth. Lets all make it a more positive, supportive place for us all to be happy and for us all to celebrate that happiness however we see fit.

I hope you are inspired by this simple idea like I was.

Thanks for stopping by.