Every single person who has ever had an Instagram or Facebook account knows the truth that social media is just a highlights reel.

A place where people curate the best moments, filter out the struggles and simply share what they want others to see. I wouldn’t be surprised if people without a social media presence are also well aware of this fact.

Even with the shift towards “raw and real” content (thanks Gen Z and TikTok), we are still hyper-aware of what we put out there and how it makes us look.

We will bend over backwards to “get the shot” and even if the final product is a far cry from what actually happened or how we actually felt in the moment, we’ll happily accept the compliments, love heart emojis and praise.

Nothing made this point clearer to me than while overseas recently in one of the most stunning places in the world, the Cinque Terre in Italy.

While my daughter and husband were enjoying a midday riposo (an Italian siesta), I parked myself along the shore where I happened to witness a photoshoot between a glamorous young Italian woman and her boyfriend. She in front of the camera, he behind.

She was beautiful and seemed to know exactly how to tilt her chin just so to get the shot. After a few minutes, she walked back to her boyfriend-cum-photographer to inspect his handiwork.

Now I’m not fluent in Italian (but from her gesticulation and furrowed brow) she was not at all happy with his work. A heated back and forth ensued until she stalked back into position and started posing again with the fakest smile I’ve ever seen plastered on her face.

And, it just made me think of all the times we ripped my daughter’s dummy from her mouth coz I didn’t want it in any pictures, all the times we took her out of her comfortable pram to try pose in front of fountain, all the times we tried to wipe her face mid-spaghetti coz I wanted to take a quick video…

Only for her to absolutely LOSE it! Why was I trying to capture moments that weren’t actually happening and in turn, just upsetting my little girl? When the beautiful Italian girl posts those photos, will she remember the fight she had with her boyfriend simply trying to get the shot?

It was a great lesson in just enjoying what is happening in the moment and not being so hung up on getting it all perfect.

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