To have had enough with today's self obsessed culture

[cablewable]

I feel like all we see now is people taking pictures of themselves on every opportunity, speaking about how they feel, what they did, why they did it, where they are, what they achieved, where they went etc etc.
What ever happened to doing something because you wanted to or just enjoy it.
Who are we proving ourselves to? At we really ever doing anything for ourselves?
Does anyone ever just look at things and say -why?!?!!?!?!??!

For me- gym pics and hospital tags are the worst, along with selfies for no reason what so ever!!!

100% agree with this OP. I feel like social media has ruined friendships for me, because I can't stand to look at their constant updates about what they've eating, wearing, watching. One friend in particular posts a photo of every meal she prepares for herself because she's dieting. I want to throw my phone out of the window because she drives me crazy, monopolising my feed with her awful attention seeking.

Our parents/grandparents went through the war and did/experienced extraordinary things. They shaped history. They are so self-effacing and modest, and yes, stiff upper lip about it all.

All three of the grandparents that lived long enough for me to know them did indeed live through the war. Two of them were lovely, self-effacing people. One of them was a self-centred nightmare. Do you really think that no one was ever selfish or self-obsessed in 1948 and it was just this perfect world of perfect people?

Agree MistressDeeCee there have been loads of events or fitness classes I've wanted to attend but won't because I don't want to be filmed and posted publicly. Even an event I've been going to for years now does this and it totally ruins the night for me because I'm looking out for the cameras. Hate it so much.

I feel the same but it’s hard to “just come off social media” because there’s stuff I need to know there- like meetings of groups I belong to, my SIL posts a lot of pictures of my DNs who I don’t see often, etc...

Each time I go on there for a specific reason I end up scrolling through the lives of fabulous photogenic people or annoying attention grabbers.

Pisses me right off.

Reminds me of this at the Royal Wedding....

Being in the moment....

I cringe when I see people taking selfies, why would you want so many pictures of yourself all the time. People can't just go anywhere and enjoy themselves and live in the moment, they do things and go to places that they deem 'Insta' worthy. The amount of timw they spend on trying to get the perfect picture is sad and they are just wasting their precious life taking pics of their face. Don't get me started on all the 20 year olds getting botox and lip and cheek fillers, they all look like aliens

I've spent the last 6 years in and out of hospital having major surgery and illnesses that quite literally nearly killed me. That have caused a burden on my life.

I posted my journey on FB and not only did it raise huge awareness, the massive support got me through my darkest hours. I teamed up with a few others and raised over 4k for research. The team raised 47k last year.

I'm not self indulgent and I suffer massively from anxiety and PTSD. So I don't love myself either.

That's the other side of the coin and when I came out the other side, it felt good. It was an achievement like no other. Nobody has once complained to me they were sick of seeing my stuff.

So you can look at this one of two ways and you can always unfollow people.

Personally seeing others happy is something I love.

That wasn’t taken sat the RW Beachy. It is an old photo..my ancient brain cells seem to recall it was a George Clooney event. But however I remember seeing this at the time and it really did sum up how things used to be against the meerkats of today, never enjoying the moment. Just filming, snapping, Insta etc. She looks completely serene and sorted, the rest look frenzied.

I read something somewhere about why people over share now online and take selfies. Something about validation, that their lives mean something, look at the fantastic places they have seen, their delightful children, the food they have eaten #tooneedy #notcool #justlive

I think there is an awful lot of truth in your op but still cannot understand why people get so worked up about Facebook. FB is a really nice/handy addition to my life and I appreciate having it.

I agree some things can be taken to the extreme (to be no different to the alcohol V alcoholism), but what about the other side? Perhaps these people are just better at appreciating what is around them than you?

Life is often crappy - there's enough woe is me posts on here to show that, but the photos and documentation on social media shows that something good has happened.
I love and adore good food, 12 years ago I was living in a hostel using a soup kitchen. not many people know that, they see my love of food but not why I love it.
I work in IT and love nothing more than going into the garden and pottering about, you don't see photos of me staring at a screen but instead the garden I love...I have a tree arriving this morning and I KNOW i'm going to post a photo, because I love it.
You are either my friend and happy for me and the things I like or you aren't. In the same way I only follow people I actually like, and I am happy for when I see them doing well or doing something they enjoy.
Perhaps your issue is you have too many acquaintances and not enough friends

I think there's quite a lot of misplaced nostalgia/the inevitable feeling that the world is going to hell in a handcart that all people have felt pretty much throughout history. The people putting up these photos now are the people who would have just talked endlessly about themselves before - it's maybe more visible, but the introspection isn't new. And I think we forget that people were perfectly capable of such self-indulgence before social media. Remember that lots of people used to force their friends to physically look at their holiday pictures - being able to skip past them on FB is a massive improvement on that!

My overriding memory of childhood holidays is the number of photos my dad used to take, and being made to stand for ages with a fixed grin while he spent ages taking several shots of the same thing in case they didn't come out. Then he would get them all transferred to slides and show anyone who didn't manage to make up a quick enough excuse to escape.
The only thing that has changed is that its easier to take and show people your photos now. It is also easier to avoid looking at them.
There are people doing amazing things all over the world every day, but people moaning about social media never mention them.

When this generation look back at their photos when they're old it will just be 10,000+ photos of their face. What about the places you went or the people you were with? Think the group photo is dying out.

I'm afraid I agree. Too much time taking pictures of themselves rather than doing anything.
I know someone who given up her career to be a vlogger. Takes pictures of her hair, all the coffee that she drinks and the lifestyle she has....which is heavily subsidised by mum and dad.

I have a friend who will ruin a nice/fun moment trying to get the perfect picture of it with her dc.

It's so annoying as I'm then tagged in the pic later when I just wanted to enjoy the moment!

Adding to Beachy's picture, this one of Hillary Clinton addressing a meeting says it all, really.

I'm sitting on a beach, right next to an open air shower enclosure. The other day in same shower was a young woman and her boyfriend..they must have spent an hour filming her in this shower..she would do the whole posing/running her hands through her hair suggestive while "showering" thing, he would film, they would watch the footage together then repeat until it was "right". It was quite depressing in the total shallowness of the whole thing.

yanbu
I would come off facebook altogether if it wasn't used as everyone else's social diary. Every event is publicised on there and info I need for school and clubs etc.
I just keep mine basic and use it mainly for that.
I dont have instagram or snapchat. I never got the fascination.

Yanbu. Selfies with cleavage pouts and nothing actually interesting in the picture are so awful. Add animal ears and noses and I want to start punching

Footballmumofthefuture That's amazing and if you were my friend, I'd want to see that. My facebook feed is dull of people talking about their feelings and their day - but these are people I love or care about, people like myself with medically / developmentally complex kids, people I don't see enough of because we no longer live in the same town, etc.

If you don't like what someone is posting just hide them from your feed if you don't eant to delete them, and if everyone on there is posting selfies and nothing else you're 15 so go back to your revision then maybe reflect on who you have as friends on there

I overheard a couple of women chatting yesterday, early 30s probably.

One was devastated because she thought the pictures she'd seen of herself at a friend's wedding were awful - her contouring hadn't worked & her foundation looked flat.

The other was all "Oh hun, don't worry - see if you can get copies & photoshop them"

Yanbu. I think social media brings out the best...and worst...in people. I use it socially and for work and various community things I'm involved with, but I would LOVE to see the demise of Facebook. It's like OP says, no one does anything for simple enjoyment these days, it all feels like oneupmanship and showing how happy/fulfilled/lucky/wealthy/popular they are.

I use Twitter as a daily digest of what's going on in the world and find it very engaging as a spectator sport, though I don't post much. I use a locked down Instagram account as I enjoy taking photos of scenery/flowers etc and it creates a lovely gallery of stuff. I've no idea what Snapchat is all about and don't want to find out.

One DS (15) uses Instagram for photos of his hobby but no other social media, and the other (12) isn't interested yet, though most of his friends are on Instagram.

Oh pfftt!

As if a two-second selfie is somehow more vain than sitting for days on end having your portrait painted! Or anywhere near as long as the original process of getting photographs. You're seeing photos become more readily available and easily shareable.

As a society we're probably most forgiving, non-judgemental, kind and charitable as we have really ever been.

But you're right about oneupmanship. People like you are always trying to prove they're "above". Either they don't take selfies, or don't even have Instagram, or are living in a ditch using a sheet for a shower curtain to reject materialism!

Just live your life, FGS.

Adding to Beachy's picture, this one of Hillary Clinton addressing a meeting says it all, really.

What it tells me is that she'd clearly just said something about taking photos. She clearly wasn't speaking yet (or had finished) and that crowd didn't just all spontaneously do that at once. If you want to read the downfall of society into that photo then fine, but that's really on you.

Oh look at you,talking about how you feel on social media

I had an odd conversation on here a while ago. I think it was a thread about people sharing inappropriately on social media. Work related stuff.
The person I was talking to would not agree that MN was social media.
She would have it. I was stupid, she was right. FB and Twitter - social media, MN - parent forum.
Totally different things, unrelated in any way.
Apparently.

I think any professional getting caught sharing info on MN would pretty soon realise that they weren't as different as all that.