(Mis)representation

Lately I've been thinking about how people use social networking and online media to represent or misrepresent themselves. A friend of mine posted an article to Facebook that discussed how the site (and other social networking sites) make people less happy. We see what friends post, which is usually a cheery or upbeat view of their lives, and assume that they have it better than we do. By contrast I am also fascinated with those who are constantly using social networking sites to complain about their lives or to whine about their perceived circumstances. Do we really need someone to tell us that the online world isn't an accurate representation of reality? Do people really believe that what doesn't get posted to Facebook doesn't happen? A week ago Thursday I had an interesting work day, interacted with many people, had lunch with friends, had drinks with other friends, hung out with family, made dinner, read about the news in the paper (though online) among other things, yet all of this was personally experienced. The photo of my cat that I'm posting is certainly not a realistic representation of that Thursday, but it represents a part of my day. How quickly we forget about the complexities of life...