Although Shock Top may use this as there slogan, this article is not about beer. It is about life, and the beauty of the unfiltered version that many are missing out on.
I am happy to say that I have never filtered any pictures I post anywhere. I realize that I may take more than one photo and choose the best one in the bunch, but that is not the same as altering the photo itself to make me look better, younger, older, smoother, cooler, tighter or any of the other desired effects. I am who I am, and I have grown completely comfortable with that. More people should do the same.
Think of it this way, you are setting yourself up for failure or rejection when you edit photos of yourself. If you posted pics of a smoking hot model on a dating website to attract good looking men to your profile, they are going to feel mislead the first time you meet them in person. They are likely to walk away or not even approach you if they see you are not in fact a Supermodel as advertised. And don’t get me wrong, men do it too, lying about how tall they are or their income or whatever else they think someone else will find attractive. Think about that, you have been dishonest from the start, and yet will have the audacity to be offended and hurt when they reject you.
What was your plan when you started down that path, talk your way out of it when you meet the person? Is your personality enough to overcome such a shock of misrepresentation that you think you can get away with it? Can you talk your way into four more inches of height or twenty pounds lighter? Of course not. And its unfair to put someone else in that position, too. Are you assuming they are doing the same thing? That may not be entirely untrue, but shouldn’t you take the high road either way?
If you want to sleep well at night, take the high road…every time.
The idea of using filters to make your biceps or anything else look bigger, your waist or anything else look smaller, etc. is not helping you in any way in the long run. It may get you a few more likes now, but at some point, that short term payoff is going to blow apart and take any of those gains with it. Whether it is a dating site or social media, be smart enough to come correct from the start.
Doesn’t that sunset have enough beauty to it? Do you think you can improve upon nature in all its’ glory? One of the best things about being out on a hike is the natural beauty that you get to witness as a main part of that little adventure. Maybe leaving your phone in your pocket and being right-here-right-now for a change would be a better approach. Live in the moment, instead of “for the ‘Gram” like so many fall prey to. Its amazing how you see people doing things that are great in and of themselves, and yet they are more focused on getting the right pic to post moreso than enjoying the experience itself.
If you have not watched the documentary The Social Dilemma, please do, and do it soon. It is a great look at this exact issue, as well as other factors in the new world we live in. This technology has only been around for a short time compared to organized society in general, and we are still trying to figure out how to navigate this appropriately. Things are moving really fast, and we are trying to play catch up in some sense, as the changes this technology brings is multi-layered to say the least.
In the movie American Beauty, one of the main characters is constantly filming everything that happens around him. It seems like an innocent thing to do, but in my opinion, he is hiding BEHIND the camera, and insulating himself against reality by doing so. If you ever saw the movie The Blair Witch Project, it was the same thing (only way scarier!) The idea of being an observer, instead of a participant, has run rampant in our world today. Many people are missing out on the true experience of an event while being consumed with the idea of “capturing” the event to post on social media. Memories, while not perfect over time, are what you are striving to fill your heart and your mind with.
The photo might be a nice reminder, but you are missing out on embedding the feeling of that moment, which is the real prize.
All of the above is my opinion of course, but I’m fairly confident that there is not much to argue against in this particular blog post. We all can see this stuff going on around us, and to some degree all of us are guilty ourselves of doing it too. What I want is for the world to find a balance of the benefits of the technology that we have access to, without being so trapped by so much of the downside of that same technology. This is a malleable thing, and varies person to person. But the outcome is up to us, and before we act like cattle and just follow the herd all the way to the proverbial slaughterhouse, maybe we should hit the reset button and reign it in a bit…
I wish you luck in your endeavors.
by Darrin Schenck
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by Darrin Schenck
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