How 'Real' Are You?!?

I do not think I know of a single individual nowadays who is not on at least one social media tool - Facebook...Twitter...LinkedIn...whichever tickles their fancy. It could be just one of these three, it could be all three, it could even be more than three!!!

Let me ask you this - whenever you post on your FB wall or whenever you send out a 'tweet', do you say things straight from your gut? or do you censor yourself? Being in the HR world, the general perception is that an HR professional is always amiable, client-centered, discreet, positive and is an olive branch-bearing peace-keeper. It is in my nature to be all that - it is 'me' (pardon me for sounding narcissistic, but I know I am not an abrasive, self-centred, negative war-freak). However, being 'me' also mean that I say what I feel when I feel like saying it...most especially when I feel strongly about it. This aspect about myself is very evident on my Facebook Wall. I type bubbly shout-out words of glee when I am extremely happy, I type scathing words of seething fury when someone or something has teed me off so bad, I am very frank about my opinions on specific issues, and I bravely expose my broken heart when I am going through intense grief. Should I feel ashamed for being uber-candid?? Once again, that is not ME. There's this supposedly 'hip' phrase - 'just keepin' it real!'...well folks, I am 'keepin' it REAL' indeed!!!

No one can ever accuse me of not being a positive person, I assure you. I hate negativity! But whenever I read wall post after wall post of 'I am at a party tonight!! It's a blast and I am soooo happy!' and 'My boyfriend just gave me a dozen roses again!' and 'I lost 10 pounds! Hooray!' and 'I am eating my super-yummy hamburger!! Deeee-licious!'...post after post after post...all along that vein - ALL from one single individual! A continuous barrage of saccharine, grinning, inane yippees...I can't help but think - 'GET REAL!!' I am not denigrating people who seem to be perpetually living life through rose-colored lenses, but I would like to read more 'meat'....I'd like to see more of a person's inner core...enough with skimming please...

Nevertheless, social media is another matter.

In the workplace, it can be a boon to have cheerful people to work with, but it can also be a bane to not really 'know' these perpetually cheerful people with a little more depth.