17c起草社区

NOTHING highlights the manipulative effects of social media quite like being publicly congratulated in the wake of personal devastation. It鈥檚 strange, the way we鈥檙e so inherently inclined not to divulge the gorily domestic details of our respectively trying lives. We鈥檇 rather share the filtered happy-snaps, the glowing throw-backs, the witty life-hacks.

Surely nobody wants to know that I鈥檝e just arrived home from our fourth trip to the emergency room in two weeks. That I haven鈥檛 slept more than three hours a night in recent memory. That work is bad, health is bad, life is (for the moment) bad. Perhaps it鈥檚 the sense of #pride that comes with presenting our lives online 鈥� a fear of being judged, a stubborn unwillingness to slip from the crumbling ledge of perceived perfection. After all, there鈥檚 nothing fun about hospital waiting rooms or CT scans. The Valencia filter doesn鈥檛 do an MRI any favours. Over-priced painkillers and the unrelenting constipation which follows don鈥檛 seem to fit under an obvious hashtag.

Instead we share our triumphs, however trivial in comparison. Of course we鈥檇 sooner imply success than admit defeat. Feign strength in place of revealing weakness.

The same could be said for the ways we compose ourselves in everyday social situations. Our trademark steely exteriors and expertly-dished 鈥渟hade鈥� might give the impression of impenetrable ferocity, but are we actually just feeding a vicious cycle of discontentment, fear and feelings of inadequacy?

Imagine if we all spoke a little more openly of our daily struggles 鈥� if our definitions of strength weren鈥檛 divulged solely from our apparent fierceness or corporate success, but rather a willingness to admit hardship and the ability to rise above it.

Perhaps it鈥檚 time we revert back to the 鈥渉omo rule book鈥� and collectively redefine fabulousness to include the unfortunate realities. I鈥檓 not just talking acne break-outs, greasy take-outs and drunken make-outs. I鈥檓 talking dodgy digestion, nasal congestion, unidentified infection and social subjection. Sometimes life gets pretty rough, and when it does we shouldn鈥檛 feel ashamed to 鈥渃heck-in鈥� at the local mental-health clinic in place of our usual Fitness First.

Who knows, maybe then I could actually speak honestly about everything: about my current anxieties and frustrations surrounding my boyfriend鈥檚 health and our waning finances. Maybe then I could share an Instagram selfie of my softening belly, rapidly fading tan, and the 4L tub of Neapolitan ice-cream I鈥檓 consuming as I type these very words.

Maybe then we could finally cut the social media crap 鈥� and admit that sometimes life is just that. #Crap.

But in the meantime: yes, things are going great. I just released my book. My last status was shared a whole bunch. I鈥檝e been tweeted and re-tweeted. Everything鈥檚 going well. Very well. Good. Yes. Thank you. A catch-up would be lovely. Celebratory drinks are certainly in order. LOL. Haha. I miss you, too. Thanks again. Don鈥檛 forget to hit 鈥渓ike鈥� and follow! Sam xxx <3

Samuel Leighton-Dore is a Sydney-based writer and director. His best-selling eBook Love or Something Like It is available now and his children鈥檚 book I Think I鈥檓 A Poof .

Follow Samuel on Twitter via聽

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**This story聽was first published in the June聽edition of the 17c起草社区, which is . To obtain a physical copy, to find out where you can grab one in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and select regional/coastal areas.