The Dark Side of Vulnerability - Jeff and Alyssa

Hey guys, there’s something I’ve been thinking about lately and I want to hear your thoughts.

What does it look like to be genuine and authentic on social media?

For some people on social media, it seems like vulnerability has become a brand. It’s like a “I’m not ok and that’s ok”-messy-bun-and-sweatpants brand. And hey, there’s nothing wrong with a messy bun and sweatpants, but should it be a badge of honor? Should the goal be #hotmessmonday?

Maybe instead of the goal of vulnerability, maybe we should aim for more? Maybe instead of using “real life” as an excuse for lower standards we should strive for personal growth?

Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely times that we’re not doing ok whether that’s from feeling frustrated over parenting or housework, feeling sad because of family or friends’ hard life circumstance, or any number of things. But when I’m feeling those things, I’d rather turn to my community and accountability partner than the thousands of voices on social media.

I think a lot of times we take things to the Internet before we take them to real people in real life. But a thousand small voices commenting on the small portion of my life that I share on social media can’t compare to someone who fully and truly knows me, my heart, and my heartaches.

Our life is not perfect and that’s ok, but not everything is meant to be shared on social media. Some things are for Jesus and our real community who know us and love us. And I’ll take real vulnerability over fake vulnerability any day.

What do you think?

In our latest podcast episode, Alyssa and I talked about the dark side of vulnerability and what it means to be authentic in a genuine way.

Listen to the episode here!

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Listen now!