The O-town Scene

Scene the O-Town Vol. 2, No. 3 www.otownscene.com 102 Chestnut St., P.O. Box 250, Oneonta, NY 13820 (607) 432-1000, ext. 255, editor@otownscene.com EDITOR Cassandra Miller Associate Managing Editor of THE DAILY STAR Adrienne Wise PUBLISHER Armand Nardi CONTRIBUTORS Kyle Beckley, John Champlin, Mat Harby, Annie Kuhn, Raul O'Toole, Jenny Ortiz, Emily Popek, Lisa Ryther, Mark Simonson, Adam Sisenwein, Sam Spokony and Jennifer Tighe. EDITOR OF THE DAILY STAR Sam Pollak ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Sean Lewis The O-Town Scene is published Thursdays by The Daily Star Inc. Free copies are distributed throughout Oneonta, as well as parts of Otsego, Delaware and Schoharie counties. Member of The Associated Press and CNHI News Service EDITOR'S NOTE I recently read an article describing how Facebook status updates allow us to present an idealized version of ourselves, which might do more harm than good. There are a few friends/ac- quaintances whose constant status updates pop up in my newsfeed about how some- one said they were wonderful or that they cooked a Food and Wine-worthy dinner or some other glorious thing happened to them that makes it seem like they're dancing on rainbows all the time, in turn making me think I, too, should be living in a constant state of happiness. Now, I'm pretty sure these people have bad things happen to them and occasionally feel glum, but this part of their lives is not usually shared. 2 O-Town Scene Oct. 20, 2011 The article suggested that all this creation of idealized online facades has a nega- tive effect, because people have a tendency to compare themselves to others, making them feel inadequate or in competition with those who seemingly have a perfect life via status updates. In comparison to my friends who are constantly posting about their life-affirming activities and how much their children or coworkers or students love them, I feel a little like a failure. I'm going through a stay home and read and/or cook _ nothing remotely close to what would be found in Food and Wine magazine _ stage, so lately whenever I've actually interacted with some- one, I post a status update about it. It's this urge to keep up appearances that my life is fun, which it is a lot of the time. But, a lot of the time it's me listening to Van Morrison while I flip through women's magazines, opting to have pasta and marinara sauce for dinner again instead of figure out how to incorporate curry powder into a meal. With personal Facebook status updates, I have a tendency to err on the side of honesty and strangeness. I think the novelty of a ridicu- lously unusual experience on a blind date or being mistaken for a 65-year-old politician's wife is worth sharing. Even though it is my life I'm talking about, I still think it's funny. I appreciate when others share their novel experiences or genuinely exciting life news like getting engaged or landing a new job or interesting articles. Speaking of exciting life news and interesting articles being posted online, the O-Town Scene is launching its new website Thursday, Oct. 27. Readers will be better able to interact with the website, "liking" stories via Facebook and commenting on stories. We're excited for the update, and hope it will make readers feel more con- nected to us. – Cassandra Miller Cassandra Miller is the founding edi- tor of the O- Town Scene. She can be reached at editor@ otownscene. com.

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