Jan 23, 2012
From the time that I was young I can remember my mothers “Phone Voice.”
The metaphor of her “Phone Voice” is how I define the way she answers the phone. Her greeting was like no other I’d ever heard; comprised of the clearest, kindest, most eloquent voice. It was unmistakable It didn’t really matter what was going on around her. She always answered this way.
I distinctly remember one time when she was screaming her head off at my sister and I only for her to stop when the phone rang to deliver a perfect rendition of her famous greeting.
While my mother is a wonderful person, this voice was not, and it wasn’t her. It was a total fraud. I knew this even as a child because she never spoke with this voice except when she picked up the call.
Since my not so fond memories of this date back to before the caller ID, I’m pretty sure she did this just in case someone really important was calling. At the very least I’m justifying it this way in my mind.
Now that we always know who is calling the element of surprise is gone. Now we know who is calling. This allows even her to answer the pone a bit more candidly.
The funny thing is how small things in life can have a big impact. The fake voice that my mother used to answer the phone drove me crazy. I never understood why you would want to be anyone but you and because of this I swore I would only be me. While perhaps a moving target, I never wanted anyone to question if I’m real.
Today the phone voice has wained, but it has been replaced. This time not by good old mom, but by a mass of social media users.
This mass of users is best characterized by those that want to always display an image because of the uncertainty of who may be listening.
After all, a good first impression is important.
Problem is, there are some misconceptions about the good ole first impression.
In fact there are many, and I won’t bore you with all of them, but here is one to take with you…
If you have lie, mislead, misinform, or act any way that isn’t representative of “YOU,” then it isn’t a good first impression. It is the foundation of a relationship that will have to continue to be built on false pretenses.
Unfortunately, the real “Us” always finds its way to the surface, it is really only a matter of when that happens.
As I have been around the “Social Media” world longer I have become more and more aware of the fake voice.
It isn’t really that hard to see it, just think about your 360 degree life off of the internet…People just aren’t so one dimensional in real life, but they can often seem that way online. Overly happy, nice, affectionate (Hugs, xo, etc), inspirational or other…
It can become even more visible when you start to meet some of these “Handles” in the real world. It is almost immediately apparent that the online personality and the offline person are hardly one and the same.
What is even more crazy is sometimes I end up liking the real person better. That is probably because no one is happy, perfect, or shiny all of the time. It is the ebbs and flows that really make life worth living.
This often leaves me wondering, why so many fakers?
Obviously not everyone is faking it. I’ve met some truly wonderful people via the social sphere. Would it surprise you if I suggest that many of the best ones are often much more electric in person than on line.
Having said that, I have also met some of the most prolific people online to find out that they are hardly prolific in real life.
As for me, I am what I am. This will probably limit my potential in the social space, but I’m okay with that. I’ve always believed in having a few really meaningful relationships rather than lots of acquaintances.
You can also count on the fact that I’m going to share what I think. This is the only thing that makes sense to me since Social Media is really just the interaction of “Real People” on a virtual platform. But I digress…
So how about you. Are you for real, or are you doing social media with a phone voice?
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