I confessthat the habit that many people have of sharing the results of their runs on different social networks has never belonged to me. Out of confidentiality and because I don’t have much to brag about (but mostly for the former, and I’ll tell you why shortly) I don’t think I’ve ever shared a workout of mine on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter.
I do it automatically on Strava but only because out of my laziness I never understood or never wanted to understand how to set it up to not share my own rides. But we are still talking about one of the most vertical social networks in existence: after all, it is only frequented by people who run or ride bikes.
Recently, however, I have noticed that this habit, while enduring for many, has faded somewhat in a broader sense. I attribute the phenomenon to less frequent social networking (although I have no data to confirm this) or understandable fatigue from something that has been done for so many years. At some point even enough is enough, right?
Downsides
While it is true that everyone is free to write or post photos on social media as freely as they like, it is equally true that anyone who does not like these exposures of others’ private lives or passions has every right to give a damn.
An ever-valid rule of these environments and of human existence in general is that there is no obligation to respond to everything you read online, just as it is a good rule not to take personally messages that have an impersonal or generic interlocutor. Yet have you ever noticed how many take personally things read out there that, objectively, didn’t even concern them?
“Just post your training time tables!” how many times have you read that? Did he or she ever think that maybe that post was not addressed to him or her but was, in fact, generic?
There is a nice comic number by Ricky Gervais that explains with a simple example the perversity of certain mechanisms of the network. “When people get upset about something I wrote on Twitter, it’s kind of like if I left it written on a bulletin board in the town square that I give guitar lessons and someone came by and tore up my ad shouting that he doesn’t want guitar lessons. But who was talking to you? If you’re not interested just ignore the ad!”
Yet there are people who are affected by these attitudes: they get depressed because they do not get the same results, they feel envy or a sense of inferiority. Should this lead those who love to share their rides to censor themselves for fear of bumping into someone or something? Of course not, there should always be complete freedom to say whatever you like.
I do not share because, as I said before, I am reserved and do not think that my times and performance are interesting, although I conceive that others find it irresistible to do so.
However, there is a more interesting and useful use of this system.
The positives
There is one type of such posts that I like to read or see: they are the well-done photographic ones that illustrate the places where you run. Rarely do they show the author or creator, very often they are photos of landscapes or curious details found during a ride.
I think at the end of the day the really interesting thing to share is the amazement we all feel running, realizing how lucky we are to experience the environment as an immense gymnasium all at our disposal. In addition, with these posts you give many people the opportunity to learn about places they might not otherwise know about, as well as giving them a relaxing break in their day.
What is better, a selfie of a face torn by fatigue or a beautiful view of our magnificent country or some exotic destination? I have no doubt: the sporting achievements of some stranger interest me infinitely less than the place where he runs.
Such a use also does not activate any feelings of envy or inferiority: one admires and appreciates it for what it is, that is, a place or a fragment of a good run that becomes the memory of a good moment and not the certification of a solitary athletic achievement.
What is worth sharing is the awe and love of the beauty of nature or cities. To learn something new if those places are unfamiliar or to feel refreshed by something of aesthetic value. Because beauty never hurt anyone.
(Main image credits: Lzf on DepositPhotos.com)