"All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players."
William Shakespeare.
How many times have you checked Instagram, today? Have you counted? You could get an app that would count for you, and you'd be shocked at how much time your phone is spent open. You'd probably share that number with your Facebook friends or maybe tweet it. You'd probably think to yourself that it's a bit shameful how much of your time is dedicated to staring at a screen no larger than an index card.
And, yet, it's not so insane. To say that you don't have a Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, StumbleUpon or LinkedIn is like saying you don't have electricity. Social media has become as natural to us as breathing -- we habitually post, habitually read and habitually absorb the world online. We filter our pictures and alter our bodies to make ourselves look bright and brilliant to the world. When you're on the stage, you have to stand out.
Actors wear thick stage makeup to make their faces stand out against the bright light. To us, in the audience, their faces seem normal and animated, but up close they're alien-like and unnatural. If actors elected to not wear stage makeup, their features would be lost to the lights -- unable to be distinguished on the stage.
We have a major fear of not standing out.
Older generations look at us sacrificing our privacy and our rights to post pictures of ourselves on every platform available. It appears narcissistic and selfish when, in reality, it's all we've ever known. We grew up on a stage underneath the lights, and we've never known a world where the spotlight wasn't on us. They gave us platform after platform to do our very best on until there was no going backstage.
No privileged kid is camera shy -- we don't even understand the term. Cameras have been in our faces like paparazzi ever since we did our first dance recital. To not be on stage constantly doesn't feel right. We are fish out of water when we are alone. We take our phones into the bathroom and the bedroom. What is intimacy? What is privacy?
When your life is constantly streamed, it means there is no mystery, no exotic, no strange and no taboo. But, wait! Weren't we told that we were special?
We fear not wearing that thick makeup will fade us into oblivion. We're terrified that without the stage we will fall into the abyss. And while we've all been trying to shine, it means that nothing contrasts the brilliance. By trying to stand out and be on stage all the time, we've ended up becoming just like everyone else. In a pursuit to be the most unique, everyone became the same.
We're not a selfish generation, we're overexposed.
