What you see isn't always what you get

We constantly gravitate towards positive content on social media (source: Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies.)

Social media is a great way for people to stay connected with each other. When you're scrolling through Instagram and Twitter, you can see what your friends, family and your favorite celebrities are up to. However, does social media always tell someone's full story? Unlike the concept of Big Brother, social media doesn't track our move, which allows us to create our own narrative on social media. Most of the time, people post more upbeat and positive things like acknowledgements and funny videos, but don't post when they're sad or upset.

I recently spoke with someone from my HighSchool and one thing that was surprising was when they told me that I made college look fun based on my social media posts. While I can't speak for everyone, I know that I try to be as transparent as possible on social media to a certain extent. I then looked back at some of my content and saw that I was unintentionally posting mostly humorous and positive content, which is something I think many of us do without realizing it.

When I recently lost my Grandmother, I was debating on whether I should make a post about it because this was something that was personal to me. However, I knew that by opening about my loss someone somewhere in the world could relate to how I'm feeling. I wasn't doing this to garner views and attention, but to connect with others on a more personal level.

While I'm not asking for people to get as personal as I did, I'm asking for people to try to be a bit more transparent on social media. Everyone's lives are filled with highs and lows and showing a mixture of both can allow your audience to connect with you better. How transparent are you in social media? Do you think people should be more open on social media?