After I shared the link of my Dhaka Tribune op-ed piece today, which seems to be getting a positive response from readers as far as Ive heard - I went back and thought about some articles I read recently about the difference between our REAL and ONLINE selves. We usually only share success stories on our timelines - the scholarship opportunity received, the romantic gift we got, the photo of elated enjoyment on the beach, and so on. But in between each of these moments, there are stories of sadness - professional failures, inexplicable periods of feeling down, disagreements with loved ones. An efficient algorithm filters them away as we search for the next bits to share, to move our digital identity forward towards a better, more loved future - maybe to compensate for our own sense of personal loss. I have long been disturbed by this culture to reject these very human elements of ourselves, in an effort to fit in, to be liked, to not feel alone. We seem to truly believe that presenting ourselves as a successful, humorous, other person will let us reach our goals. But it often does just the opposite. It breeds resentment, and pushes people away. And on a personal level, this mental burden becomes too much to bear. We cannot maintain two separate identities and thrive in our lives - whether real or online. It is just too difficult for one brain. So, in an effort to challenge this culture, I have decided to share stories of my failures - personal and professional - at least as frequently as my successes. If I were to reflect the real frequency, successes would definitely get trampled under a pile of failures. For example, I submitted 4 opinion pieces to various newspapers over the last couple of months, and none of them got accepted. This fifth one did, though. Whoever you are and whatever may be your failures, just hang in there and keep trying to pursue your dreams.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 15:45:05 +0000
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