Most people groups the world over have story-telling traditions. The Story Teller serves to preserve the values or morals of his or her respective society. As artists in their own right, Story Tellers fashion tales, which affirm our beliefs or are lesson-based. Whether Greek myth, African folklore, European fairy tale, Biblical parable, or Caribbean and Latin American narrative, stories simultaneously define us and shape our thinking. And while based on human-experience, not every valuable story must be true in its entirety, to hold truth. So what has happened to our story-telling traditions today?
The reality of instant information at the press of a button or sliding of a screen does shape our current experience. Stories fly at us from every available end and we can become overwhelmed by information overload. The tabloids, the box-office, the news networks and the best seller all attempt to send believable stories our way and we can be faced with the real challenge of deciphering fact from fiction. On the other end, while many bemoan what technology has done to authentic human relationships, the existence of social media is perhaps in itself, an attempt to reinvent intimacy and to re-tell our stories.
But how can we deal with the challenge of hiding who we really are beneath the person we really hope to be? While Facebook and Instagram as social network tools are relatively newer vehicles for us to tell our stories, they are also excellent for creating an unreal existence. And this is where our stories become robbed of their potential power; our modern day technological fables have become places where we hide. While it may be great that social media tools allow us to control our own narratives, finding the right balance between engaging with what is popular versus what is authentic will be critical.
Today, we create stories with limited value because the image painted by our pictures and words may actually be duplicitous. We become hooked on the invented reality of social media and lose touch with who we really are. We become seduced by the high of one thousand Facebook friends who on a real day are actually not our friends in a way that counts. We can become instantly “famous”, “popular”, “successful”, or be “trending”, with some well-calculated details which may actually be hiding the truth of the entire picture. Of course, I value the power of social media myself in a world, which is now virtually flat. It most certainly has its place in forging social and professional connections and should be appropriately utilised. But where do we draw the lines between reality and fiction? And to what extent do our concoctions hurt us and fail to really help others?
In our real-life circle, away from our photo-stories, how vulnerable, honest and exposed are we really? Do we connect with friends and family to forge real intimacy? Do we expose our weaknesses and flaws as much as we do our strengths, to those we love? Can we allow our mistakes to guide a friend? Are we open to correction and guidance from others if our real story leaks out? Do we offer genuine advice based on the life-lessons learned? Have we allowed our public profile to subsume who we really are or are we even connected to our real story? What about that story that is uniquely ours; do we really know its details; its value? Are we intimately in-tuned with our own experiences, motivations and behaviours or are we coasting on auto-pilot? Are we reflective, self-aware and capable of growing past the limitations, which our own stories may suggest?
Of course, in sharing our stories I’m not talking about the indiscriminate “confession” of every intimate detail of our lives with complete strangers. Honest and open sharing of our challenges can have a valid place depending on context, our life-role and our motivation. Some have shared the stories of their battle with disease, drug abuse and depression or of their triumph over terminal illness and in these instances, the story-telling process seemed to became as therapeutic as the story itself.
Fundamentally, a life that is open to sharing is not one governed by pride and pretence. It does not need to be always right, nor must it always mirror near perfection. Living authentically should reflect the balance between moving towards our ideal self while embracing our humanity. In today’s digital economy, the most successful companies are those which are mastering the art of utilising social media to craft and tell their own stories in ways that connect to their customers or clients. This often means not only celebrating their successes but also going public when they fail and seeking the collective forgiveness of both current and potential customers.
Story telling may be a way for us to leverage our influence and gain access into the lives or spaces of others. As we let our barriers down and expose our true stories, however, currency is not always guaranteed. Whether we gain or lose from story telling , we should at least enjoy the satisfaction, which the pursuit of authenticity brings.
. © Denise J Charles 2018
FUTURE LEARN 2.0 