Saturday 1 October 2011

Narcisistic Behaviour

"Why do some people not realize how obnoxious they are?
I guess it's because of their inherent obnoxiousity."

One of my Facebook friends posted this as an update. This person is notorious for either the 'my life is miserable; please pay a lot of attention to me' or 'my life is so perfect; don't you wish you were me?' posts. For some reason, this person's updates are the only ones that irk me... Maybe because she irks me in person as well. It's like she's too needy in her posts - always wanting to be the centre of attention - even when she's writing about someone else.

Although it might not seem like it... this blog seems to be a lot about me... I usually put everyone else first.  It wasn't until I became sick that I started paying attention to myself... Sad but true.

Of course, when it comes to blogging and Facebook status updates (especially Facebook updates), I also tire of those who use the medium to continuously cut-down others or do the 'woe is me' thing. (Kind of ironic, given the nature of this blog). My Facebook status tends to be more optimistic, and I hope these updates aren't always downers to those who read it. Yes, I know my life is a challenge right now, but I don't complain about it or advertise it everywhere, every chance I get. I don't need to provide every a play-by-play of every 'crisis' I experience. If I did, things would get awfully boring (like they have been in recent updates... sorry).

Maybe that's why I'm sick. Perhaps hiding in the background means I don't share enough to get better.  But, I don't think that Facebook is the medium for griping about everything. Does the world need to know and pay attention to you every time things don't go right? What ever happened to meeting with friends and having a bitch session? At least you end up laughing or eating.

I know that when you post on Facebook, you can get the support you're needing - which is positive. Very positive. Especially when it is a real crisis - like being really sick, having a sick child, facing a huge challenge you need advice or sincere support on. To me that makes sense.  But complaining because you're in pain after a workout, each time you workout, not so much (if I did that, people would REALLY be annoyed). 

This Facebook friend is notorious for complaining about doing something positive, like the pain she's in after going skiing or cycling with her kids.  Why can't it be about enjoying the time with them... and not about her? 

The biggest challenge for me and this particular Facebook friend is that I don't need things to be all about me all the time, while she does. This difference in attitude creates inner conflict (I would never tell her). I wish it didn't. I just can't understand it.

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