Can you take off the mask?

I'm using this blog as a way to say what I need to say without physically saying it. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the best person when confronting issues face to face. In fact, I'm not even great at sharing my thoughts face to face. These days things are resolved Facebook to Facebook...

As if hiding behind a mask, we use technology these days to say things that could be awkward to say in person. How many people do you pass on the street who are willing to share with you what they had for breakfast? Hopefully very few. However people feel comfortable sharing information like that behind social networking sites. What comes at a price is when people share things that are too personal. 

Confronting a person can lead to an awkward situation. Now that people hide behind the mask of technology, they would rather share conflicts publicly rather than between person to person. How does this make it better? Sure, you may be able to communicate that issue with that person and not have an awkward moment face to face but everyone else in the Internet world has access to the problem now too! This world has enough problems in it without more drama being added in.

It becomes like an addiction. How easy is it to delete a Facebook account? The more you get involved in the mask, the harder it is to take that mask off. It becomes your life and before you know it, you are constantly involved in it. All your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers are there. Everyone seems to be in the same place, as if it was right where you left them. 

It gives a false sense of popularity. When you have access to everyone at once, you feel connected and wanted even though a lot of the people who are there you may not have had actual contact with since high school. What makes this more important than reality? People share things on social media networks that they wouldn't normally share so you start to feel even more connected.

I'll be the first to admit I hide behind a mask often. This post is me hiding behind a mask. That is today's society. There are things you talk about and things not to talk about, things that are too uncomfortable to talk about but are easier when made public because you get support from people you haven't spoken to or seen in the last five years. 

Eventually, my mask will come off. This blog is my comfort zone in the meantime but eventually I will be better handling situations without having a phone or a computer to hide behind.