AIBU - 'I'm having a fab time' photos.

[Tazmum01]

People that are desperate for you to think that they have such a great life. If they're out, we all know about it. Tagged in lots of fab places, selfies with lots of fun looking people, pictures of their cocktails with a beautiful sunset behind it.
We went out drinking this weekend with a bunch of couples and whilst it was nice to be out (child free) it wasn't the best day ever (early bar). We had some laughs, but when I looked at the pics that I was inundated with, I thought 'was I at the same place as these people?'
Am I getting old? Am I a complete mardy arse for thinking this way? Or was I so smashed that I didn't realise that I was having so much fun?
I hope I'm not past it???!!! Tell me I'm not alone.

You're not alone, I can't bear all this fakery. It can be quite narcissistic too....why do people post pics of themselves having 'such a great time'? To show off, that's why. (IMO). Ok, maybe there are cases where it's nice to see new photos of friends/family members but I think underneath, if people were honest its just all one big show!

I like to see pictures of my friends having a nice time. Even if they are only "having a nice time" and not "the best time ever".

I like to see my friends dressed up in nice outfits.

I like to see pictures of nice food, I think "that looks nice" and it might make me think "I'd like to go to that restaurant".

If you are my friend and you don't like the things I post, you are free to unfollow me.

If the things I post make you very angry, perhaps you are not my friend at all, are you sure you actually like me?

This is my sister. We were on holiday this summer visiting family. She complained constantly about how boring it was, how there was nothing to do with her dc etc but her Facebook and instagram were full of carefully posed pictures of them having a great time and 'making memories' 🙄

I don't really understand facebook, tbh. I know it has been around for years and whatever but I really don't get the 'tagging' yourself at the bowling alley, supermarket, dentist, Nandos, blah. I don't see the point, as well as not getting the thing of being at a place then actively getting a phone out to update your location status. It is weird to me.

As for taking photos at happy/fun events. I can understand wanting to record enjoyable, happy moments in your life to look back on. I don't really understand taking photo's just for your 'followers' though. like some sort of minor celeb.

Luckily, none of my friends are of the photo-opp persuasion. I wonder if it's an age thing, we're late 30's to early 50's, I think we missed the boat having not grown up with camera phones and social media. It's just not 'normal' to us.

Yes I've thought this many times.

A work colleague does this at every work event. Sometimes they are fun, but often they are just slightly awkward work lunches followed by a drink and then everybody is desperate to go home.

From the pictures this colleague posts on Instagram you would think we had been out all night on the swankiest bar ever, eating the best meal EVER.

I thought the same as you: were we at the same place??

I blame those filters! Real life just can't keep up.

If I'm out and having a great time I forget to take pictures.

Yanbu but...isn't that what social media is all about? I doubt you'd see too many selfies of someone with vomiting and diarrhoea or visiting the GUM clinic for treatment. It's a good times/'don't ya wish ya were me' stage which is why it has such a negative impact on people's mental health.

Exactly @SillyLittleBiscuit I think the sign of a good night is when you haven't even thought about your phone.

People have taken photos when on days out, family days, holidays, birthday meals etc for years.

We just get to see them more because its on social media.

I love photos. Though i dont put many on fb. If i am having a great time, i want a photograph. So i can look back and remember.

I have loads of photls of the kids and seeing them prompts me of the small things they used to do.

I dont know why people get so sniffy about social media. If you post good stuff, you are annoying. If you post bad stuff then you are attention seeking.

It really makes me wonder why people who it annoys so much are on it in the first place.

I was walking on tower bridge a few back and the number of times I had to duck people taking selfies was unbelievable. So many ppl were stressing to get the right angel, right smile, they completely missed the beauty of where they are.

I know what you mean OP. The ones that I find worst are the ones where you know someone is going through a dreadful time in their marriage but they’re posting all these happy pictures that you know are complete lies. Why post anything?

When my sister was alive she had terrible self esteem and she would do this whenever we saw each other. It was all staged as she wanted People to think she had an exciting and interesting life. It was all fake, we’d just be in the local having a quick pint of bitter.

I hate the duck face selfies of a particular mate who has terrifying eyebrows and wears almost black lipstick. She looks like she's done up for Halloween every Saturday night! Even a night round a mate's house generated dozens of FB photos. Ridiculous.

A friend went on a foreign holiday last year and seemed to spend more time taking and leading pictures of herself than she did actually enjoying her holiday! Bonkers!

Some equally annoying things.

I don't like it when people post about every place they go to and everything they do ... everything always looks better on a photo of a second's worth of your day when the rest may have been cack. The thing that really gets on my nerves is those who post selfies constantly - it's so vain in my opinion, unless you're 17 or below

YANBU - this annoys me too. If you were having such a bloody good time surely you wouldn't need to/think to photograph it??

I like to look back at my Facebook photos, remind me of fun nights out and days on the beach or holidays with my family. And I like seeing what my friends are up too, we have busy lives and I don't see them as often as I'd like. Although I don't think I see this "fakery" that other people mention- obviously my friends only put on photos of stuff that's worth seeing - fun/beautiful/funny etc. I know they don't have perfect lives but when they are having fun why not put up a picture? I don't see many food photos tho to be fair!

To add to that - I stopped going on Facebook etc months ago and I can honestly say it's made me feel happier and more content.
Now I just need to kick my MN habit!

I tell you what, the next time i have something vaguely fun to boast talk about I am going to post one million photos and pretend to myself that my life isn't going down the drain

Oh and runners. Sharing their daily routes and achievements. Give me a photo of a nice dinner any day.

I get you OP. And I think it's quite damaging, not that particular example on its own but the constant drip of it. A desperate need to be dishonest, to cover up the normal everyday messes of living alongside the cognitive dissonance that other people are doing exactly the same. I think people are really suffering by not being in the moment, meeting the world as it is etc and they harm also the people around them who are trying not to do it.

Because I have a lot of contact with looked after children I decided not to do Facebook, instagram etc at all (I have twitter tho, I find that quite easy to manage). Facebook in particular has resulted in some serious issues with a few of these children, some of it direct (sentenced father and son tracking down 12 girl in care and attempting to take her back at 3am for example) but a lot of it indirect. Some of the things I see look a lot like grooming and adults who should know better falling to it.

I think the constant photographing and publishing to imply things that are based in truth but in the end are not true is part of that spectrum.

I know exactly what you mean OP. I know a woman who does this all the time. We were all out a couple of weeks ago, and it was a pretty quiet night...nobody was in a great mood, and all headed off to bed early.
Next day her status told everyone what a fantastic night she had, how her stomach was sore from all the laughing etc. She also had a filter on her photo which actually erased most of her feature (her nose had almost disappeared)...to which everyone commented on how stunning she looked. Her natural photos were lovely - I don't get why she does this to her pictures. It's all so totally fake.

Of course photos are used to present a selectively-edited series of images to the world by shallow people.

They're also used by more creative people to provide humorous, thoughtful, creative, intelligent commentary on the world around them.

You need more creative, less competitive friends!

I think it makes a difference as to when the photos are shared. If they are posted on Facebook whilst actually out, that is pretty sad. I'd be offended if I was out with some friends and they went on Facebook. Luckily none of my friends would do this as we aren't bored whilst in each other's company.

People seem so tied up with giving the impression of having fun that they don't enjoy the moment anymore

It's so sad that they are so insecure they need to project such false images of themselves. I wonder who they think believes it?

What would you want to see them posting pictures of?
Obviously people want to take photos of fun times. I don’t much care for photos some of my friends post (newly decorated room, garden, pets, babies, weddings etc) but I hit the like button and scroll on because they’re my friends and the photos make them happy.