Are we playing for an audience?

How much we do or do not do because we thinking about an audience - real or imagined?

Last night, my husband was telling me how international soccer has started up again, in stadiums without fans due to the pandemic. It means no more cheers, songs or booing from the crowd. Then he mentioned a stadium that put cardboard cut-outs of people in the stands – a fake audience.

Thinking about the effort taken to make faux fans for a stadium got me thinking about how much we do or do not do because of the presence of an audience - real or imagined.

Before he mentioned this, I had been composing an Instagram post with a collection of images only to decide not to post it. This happens often – I question the quality of the content and then why would I need to post it. The moments were lived, the images taken and the memories saved, but does it have to be shared? Do I need an audience for it?

Social media’s split personality

This has been a question on my mind for years as I grapple with my love/hate relationship with social media.

On one hand, it’s a great way to connect with people, share ideas and inspiration and be inspired while simultaneously being a vehicle of distraction and narcissism. This is social media’s split personality.

When I’m online, I try to stay on the good side of it – follow people who inspire creativity rather than envy, share honestly and respectfully – but I still wonder if I’m falling for a time and soul-sucking vacuum.

I don’t have ‘the answer’ to social media  – I’m no hypocrite and admittedly love scrolling Instagram, but I do think it’s important to keep social media in perspective. 

Not everything needs to be shared to be important. And sometimes, the time spent sharing and scrolling can stop the doing of what's important.

Related: The small things are the big things

What can we learn from lockdown? 7 Lockdown life lessons

 Lockdown hasn’t been easy, and COVID-19 is scary, but being stuck at home has had some benefits...

This virus has freaked me out ever since I learnt about it, and we've been taking precautions – like avoiding crowded spaces - since February. So, when lockdown started on 26 March, I felt oddly relieved. Finally, the virus was been taken seriously. 

The relief didn’t last long though -  this pandemic is an emotional rollercoaster. Some of the lockdown regulations have sucked – like being deprived of wide, open natural spaces - and I worry about how social isolation and pandemic fears could all affect my child’s mental health. However, I'm grateful to be able to stay safe at home and for what lockdown has taught me...