Everyone says they're fine!

So there I was, generally browsing my facebook friend list, looking at all the gems I’d managed to collect since I jumped onto the bandwagon a few years ago. Nearly 300 peeps were ensconced there, and I know I’ve interacted with all of them at some point or the other (I just pride myself on not adding anyone and everyone to my list). The one characteristic I couldn’t escape was how happy everyone looked (and how good looking everyone was!).

Strange... I’ve been in a number of social situations in my 30-odd years on this planet, and like almost everyone else, I’ve spent time with a number of different kinds of people, in different situations, and what has been an almost unquestionable observation is that people are heavily governed by their moods. Moreover, eliciting a smile from a majority of people is a rather Herculean task. I ask you then, how come, every time I look at anyone’s picture on FB, the person seems to be smiling/having fun (or looking good, for that matter)?

Ok, let me move away from generalizations – maybe some people are genuinely happy, or at least don’t have to make a gargantuan effort to smile or have fun. There are definitely people in my ambit who are sullen to a fault and as a rule find it impossible to be pleasant to others. Don’t get me wrong – my respect for all human beings is unflinching (as if!), all I’m trying to say is that there are people (let’s call them ‘sullens’ instead of people, shall we?), the Sullens (not to be confused with the vampire family Cullens), who are, well, sullen, as a rule, and are not at all ashamed about it. In fact, if anything, they carry this attitude very proudly on their sleeve (and face, and body language…). They’re not apologetic in the least about being unsmiling, unpleasant, and generally being jerks!
I’m sure by now you’re wondering why I bother to have them in my friends’ list – you see, like I said before, I have respect for all human beings (a pinch of salt is in the corner, kindly help yourself)…

So what is it that makes these proud sullens want to portray a smiling image (only) to the social media world? Is it a secret desire to appear warm and friendly? Is it a devious ploy to trap people in the friendship web before attacking them with the reality of their attitude? Or is it just that they’re tired of being sullen all the time, and want to frame that one moment of smiling artificially forever and ever! And since no one asks many questions about one’s profile picture, social media is the absolute best way to do this!

Now I’m no shrink, and I’d rather not get into why sullens are sullen, but I am a regular human being with human weaknesses, and I’d certainly like to express an opinion!
I say lets not single out sullens – it’s a phenomenon that’s pretty much universal – almost all of us like to portray ourselves as fun loving individuals who are forever pleasant and engaged in interesting activities. The real question then, is why is the concept of ‘just having fun’ looked down upon? And while we’re at it, another general wondering – how come people almost always manage to look good on their profile pictures?