Why Do We Always Have To Seem ‘Interesting’ Online?

I didn't even plan to post; I just opened an app. But somewhere between the first scroll and the fifth, I start feeling it: The idea that one should have something important to say, something that proves I am not just 'existing'. Most of my days are plain. Work. Sitting quietly. Nothing big enough to post. But online, ordinary feels invisible. 

I’ve never been someone who feels the need to post everything. I scroll, I read, I observe, but I rarely feel pulled to put my own life out there. Not because I’m hiding, just because it doesn’t come naturally to me.

'Pics or it didn't happen'

No one outright tells you to be interesting. That’s the strange part. The pressure comes from watching. From seeing what gets attention, from noticing what makes the headlines or goes viral, maybe someone's simplest idea turns out to be so dramatically famous.

I see what’s happening online. The trends, the jokes, the perfectly framed moments. But it doesn’t really push me into doing or posting something.

I don’t feel behind if I don’t post. I don’t feel the urge to explain my life to people who aren’t in it, and I think it's not the case with many around.

Even if I’m not deeply affected, I can sense it. Everyone should have something to say, something to show. It’s not loud, but it’s there.

It's just that I am not driven by it; being disconnected should not mean being invisible. Social media, in today's day and age, is about being seen, which is not always possible.

Online, it can feel like interest equals attention. Like if something isn’t shared, it doesn’t count. I don’t really buy that. A life can be full without being displayed.

Views expressed by the author are their own.