Don't be an online Costco sample

Let's face it: Facebook stalking has pretty much become normal.

One simply needs a handful of minutes to blow, a mild curiosity, and a reasonable excuse to browse through someone's photos, favourite quotations, and personal info.

A click here, a scroll there- and Voila! In less than two minutes one can know all about what Sally Somebody has been doing in the last six months.

Admittedly, this topic is the beginning of a lecture we've all heard before, be it from our parents and/or teachers. We all know it. It's the one about "privacy" and "real friends".

It's the one about "wasting time" and "camwhoring".

They run on, and we nod, but continue doing whatever we've been doing on social networking sites. After all, they don't understand what it's like to be a kid growing up in 21st century, right?

They don't get that we need to post pictures of ourselves in the bathroom mirror pursing our lips, exposing cleavage, or showing off our abs to have friends. They don't understand that if we go too long without writing a status update, we'll become irrelevant and fade into obscurity.

How could they have experienced the thirst for attention and the desire to be noticed as somebody special and beautiful? How could they possibly realize the popularity and love that lies waiting at the fingertips of the Facebook user?

In his novel The Picture of Dorian Grey, Oscar Wilde wrote, "Nowadays people know the price of everything, but the value of nothing."

We all want to be valued and loved for who we are. We want to be appreciated and told that we are beautiful.

So we post attractive pictures of ourselves as if we're preparing for a L'Oreal commercial. "Look at me," we cry inside, "I'm worth it. Don't you think I'm worth it?"

Unfortunately, using Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, etc. as a way to feel valued can't give us what we want. By laying ourselves bare (literally and otherwise), we cut ourselves up and unintentionally give others a substitute for the real us.

It's like those free samples at Costco; people take those things and eat them because they're free, and they're there. If our pictures are there, people will look; not necessarily because they care, but because they're bored and it's entertaining to peek into someone else's life. We browse, judge, and move on.

We are SO much more than an album of photos, and a collection of statuses. We are worth more than 50 "likes" or 20 comments. When we give away pieces of ourselves online, we just look needy. I think anyone who can uphold some mystery and be secure without frequent peer approval has depth and confidence. But I guess this is all just a part of growing up in the 21st century.