Want To Be Happier? Stop Comparing Yourself To What You See On Social Media

The guy down the hall who got a promotion. The friend who always gets a table at the hottest restaurant in the city. The former roommate who takes the best vacations. Sure, you’re happy for them, but with people posting only the best parts of their lives on Facebook, it’s hard not to compare yourself to others.

Facebook and Twitter bring social comparison to a whole new level. “Social media is basically social comparison on steroids,” says Ramani Durvasula, a Los Angeles-based licensed clinical psychologist and psychology professor at California State University.

People showcase the most aspirational version of themselves on social media—new houses, expensive dinners, exotic vacations. It’s human nature to compare ourselves to others in order to learn how to behave and gauge societal expectations, but this becomes problematic when it feeds low self-esteem or causes anxiety, says Durvasula.

I think showcasing the best parts of our lives is what social media is for and seeing the highlights of other’s adventures often motivates me to go have my own.

In the same breath, I also know that it’s all too easy for me to get caught up in the bad parts. Posting something on Facebook and then getting a truckload of likes can be exhilarating — it’s instant confirmation that I’m “somebody.”

Being an “adult” I can take a step back but it’s the kids and how this shapes their lives that I worry about. M. is very impressionable when it comes to her peers.

#socialmedia #random

The downside to the nice weather is that all these twerps are getting in my way as I try to get home from work. However… “Groove is in the Heart” is on the radio so I’ll let ‘em slide this time.

#trafficnews

In related developer news, Oracle not supporting auto increment without sequences and triggers makes me want to pull somebody’s hair out.

#devhell

Why does date math in JavaScript need to be so difficult? Dates have only been around since LIKE FOREVER.

#devhell

The Spirit of the Fourth Amendment—and the NSA’s Disregard for It

If we go back to the understanding of why we declared independence from Great Britain, it stemmed from worries about excessive surveillance. James Otis in 1761 was denouncing general writs of assistance, general search warrants, as being totally inimical to freedom and independence …. It empowered every petty official to go examine people’s homes and businesses, to determine whether they had any smuggled goods. There was no probable cause.

… This opposition triggered, in John Adams’s words, the spark that led to the American revolution …. The spirit of the Fourth Amendment, the spirit of the country, was captured in William Pitt the Elder’s address to the British parliament in 1763, when he was opposing excise taxes, which also would be enforced by these general writs of assistance. And what he said rang throughout the colonies: The poorest man in his cottage may bid defiance to all the forces of the crown. He may be frail. The roof may shake. The winds may blow through it. Storms may enter. Rain may enter. But the King of England cannot enter. All his forces dare not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement.”

That, ladies and gentlemen, was the spirit of the Fourth Amendment. It was later described by Justice Louis Brandeis in Olmstead v. the United States as the right to be let alone—the most cherished right among civilized people. And he understood that our right to that liberty, it applies because we’re human beings and individuals. We don’t have to justify the right to be let alone.

If you haven’t seen the John Adams miniseries, I suggest you add it to your playlist.

#politics

Expert: Personal social media posts can help, hurt a career

Kimberly Bean with Robert Half Technology said what happens on social media can easily affect a career.

“Seventy-six percent of (human resource) professionals said it affects your career,” she said of one’s social media posts. “Not only during your career, but also while trying to get a job.”

Way to take a stand.

#socialmedia

Me: Maggie, my leg is so sore from my run.

Maggie: Okay.

#maggie

This is from one of Maggie’s school papers…

“Today’s the day. Ugh! Ding! 3:15 time to get up. Can’t see anything. Pitch black. 4 hours until a space shuttle goes into the sky. Near the launchpad, we put on our suits, get information and eat breakfast…”

#photos #education #maggie

‘XXX Freak Fest’ at Airbnb rental a lesson in online dealings

Airbnb, the company that lets users rent their apartments and homes to others, found itself working overtime this weekend to help a New York man whose apartment ended up being used for an adult party.

Ari Teman, who identifies himself as a comedian on Twitter, messaged the company through Twitter on Saturday after discovering that the person he had rented his Manhattan apartment to had used it for an “XXX Freak Fest.”

As recounted by a blog posted on Tumblr and a report by Gawker, Teman agreed to rent his apartment to a man who has been identified only as “David.” Teman went out for dinner and returned to his building to pick up a suitcase before leaving the city for the weekend.

Upon returning, Teman found David in the building lobby and heard him telling others “they’re shutting us down.” Teman quickly began investigating the Gmail address and phone number David had provided and found that the number was associated with tweets that had been sent promoting an “XXX Freak Fest” at his apartment.

At least it wasn’t a XXX Donkey Fest.

#meanwhile

There are great many things that should be universal. Example: windshield wipers.

#random