Growing Old Gracefully on Social Media

When you look at yourself on social media, what do you see? What do your friends and family see? Do they see the person you are, or do they see someone else?

Recently, while scrolling through Facebook, I realized that I didn’t recognize one of my friends. I paused on their page and stared at the photo in front of me. Then I looked at the name and back at the photo. It had been a few years since I had seen this friend in person, so I have to admit that I was surprised that I didn’t recognize her. She had grown old. She had gained weight, let her hair go gray, and sported clothing typical of a 65+ year old person. But what I did recognize was her smile and  laughing eyes that always seemed to be on her face. This was the reason I paused on her site in the first place.

I flipped back to my own Facebook page and began scrolling backward. Looking at photos of myself,  I wondered at what point did I join my friend in looking old/older. For me, this journey verified what I was seeing in my own mirror every day, a change from my youthfulness to middle age. I have been struggling with growing older. Not because I’m vain or that I don’t want to be older. But most people haven’t experience what I have.

When you are little, five feet and 100 pounds for a long time, people treat you like  you’re a kid. You are constantly told how cute you are, how young you look, or how lucky you are that you look so young. You get so used to hearing these statements, that one day you’re shocked to  look in the mirror or step on a scale and realize you are no longer that little, young person anymore. It is hard to accept. It’s harder on us little people because this sudden change often happens in our late fifties or sixties. We literally go from looking young to looking old. So what’s this have to do with social media?

Well, I’ll tell you. Your friends see you differently than you see yourself. They see you as they remember you, because growing old gracefully on social media is possible. Even though I feel I grew old all of a sudden, those around me, and those that follow me on social media,  say I’ve never changed.

The secret clearly must be, stay on social media regularly! If you are seen every week by your friends on you favorite platform, it’s hard for them to recognize your daily changes. They won’t notice you gaining weight or your hair color slowly changing. They won’t see photos of you limping down the hall after sitting on the couch for an hour. No, they will see you hiking up a trail or swimming in your pool. They will put their memories of you as a younger person together with your current photos, and you will always be the same to them. You WILL grow old gracefully without anyone even noticing.

Don’t post regularly and you will shock your followers, as my friend did me. It’s a ridiculous concept, but think about it. How often have you seen a friend in person after a long absence, and they seem the same to you because you have been following them on social media? They seem to never age…because they are aging gracefully with you.

You may say you don’t care what people think of you, and BRAVO to you for  feeling this way. But for those of us struggling with growing older, this is a little secret that just may make you laugh and bring those smiles and laughing eyes to your face… the face we have always loved and remember.