Masks by Claudia H. Blanton
Hide
your colorful masks
empty of real expression
hide the pain inside
We all pretend. Sometimes in social media, this pretend leaves me with a feeling of disconnect. I don’t mean that we purposely pretend to be someone else we are not. I do not believe that. But because social media and blogging (as well as art and writing) can leave the creator vulnerable, we hide behind our masks of our own creation.
How much should we share? How will what we share affect those we love, and how does the parts that we do choose to show influence what others think of us?
Many bloggers choose to share quite a bit about their lives. Cautiously, they write about their depression, struggles, obstacles and dreams. This raw openness takes courage. Artists and writers do the same, through their creation and stories – even if it is not as recognizable at first glance as it is in the platform of a blog about someone’s life. The message and vulnerability is the same.
It is that what attracts me to those creatives, and the fact that the opposite is often the truth in social media channels and that pushes me away. Where is the real person behind the twitter feed, the emotion behind that snarky comment, or seemingly open attitude? We get snippets, not stories, little glimpses of masks, rather than the true person behind.
It is not to say that we should share more, indeed I think that sharing more on those open platforms can be too dangerous to consider it. Yet, I miss that more and more today. And within that lies my love/hate relationship with social media.
Question: What parts of yourself do you share openly on social media, and which ones do you choose to hide? Is that a concious decision you make, or is it an instinctive holding back?
“Masks” is available on RedBubble as a canvas print, poster or a framed art piece.
This blog post is a part of the following blog hops:
Avalon-Media - A LifeStyle Blog 
Great post! Strangely I find myself being more open on my blog than I am in person. Vulnerability is something I really struggle with as I typically associate it with showing a weakness or kink in the armour. I do struggle though with what to share and how to share it. People I know read my blog and they have certain expectations of me so I always have an internal fight of being authentic and being what others have come to expect of me. Great thought provoking content!
ah, yes expectations, that has a lot to do with how I present myself to others, off and online – not always a good and healthy thing to do, so I am working on that. Thank you for your kind comment. Blessings and have a wonderful day!
Love the concept of masks and the analogy about twitter feed offering glimpses. I’m still in a state where I try to find a balance. On twitter I am very reserved and there are periods that I spend away from it (November being one one of them, likely to be the entire month). There is so much anger and abuse there, it’s hard to overlook. I know I am supposed to have a presence as a writer but currently I’d rather write, also because of difficult personal circumstances than spend time on twitter. Facebook scares the hell out of me. My presence there is nominal.
You are absolutely correct, every time we write we pour something from our soul in it. Sometimes I don’t see it until much later and it’s always a surprise because I rarely write with the intention of doing that.
In all cases (social media, blog, and blog interactions) I am trying to be genuine. What am I revealing? That which feels the correct thing to reveal. Mainly because like in everyday life, abusers exist and thrive on making people suffer. So I am slowly learning the interaction that keeps me protected but also authentic. If in doubt I’d rather remain silent than reveal too much. Hope it makes some sense, it’s a hard concept to put into words.
I resonate with your want for balance in your blog – the balance between what moves you so deeply, and keeping a protective layer around you. That is wise, yet sometimes hard to put into practice.
Ah the flow of words or art, when we are in our zone, is revealing, isn’t it? And quite scary in its revelation to ourselves sometimes.
Blessings!
I feel that I’m more open with some things online, but others I’m much more guarded about. My worst fear is ending up in trouble with work for what I do online so I’m careful not to bring the organisation into ‘disrepute’. x #sharewithme
that is an understandable fear, hon. Especially considering that some companies are very picky about their employees online life. Thanks for stopping by.
Wonderful post! You ask thoughtful questions, too. My blog is all about sharing much personal info about my health, but I don’t share everything about my personal life. I make that decision deliberately. I love the artwork on your post…beautiful 🙂 Thanks so much for linking up at Together on Tuesdays.
thank you, Lisa – glad you enjoy my art! I guess we all have areas we are too protective to share much about, understandably so. For Me, that is my kids.
If I wouldn’t tell a friend or think that others in my family would be upset by it then I won’t share it on the blog. It seems to be working well so far, but it is hard balance to strike. Very thought provoking post
that is a great policy, dear. Glad you enjoyed the post!
Great article! I often express my genuine emotions on my blog but I hide personal information such as my sons names and where I live. Thanks for sharing with #SocialButterflySunday! Hope to see you link up again this week 🙂
thank you, dear! That sounds like a sound idea – my children’s names also do not appear on anything I write. Blessings!
Interesting way to look at it. I have no secrets in any part of my life. I tell anyone anything and have always been very open person but I know my hubby is the complete opposite so I hold back some things of our private life for him on social media that I normally wouldn’t for me. Thank you for stopping by LTM and linking up to SWM. I hope to see you again tomorrow for another great round of #sharewithme
thanks, Jenny. I love being a part of your blog hop, and will try to join you every week. Bles!sings