Reader Rant: Does Everyone Need to Post Their Whole Vacation?

Hi, friends! We got a question from a reader, and maybe you've run into something similar and can give her some good advice in the comments. It's about all the comparing that gets going, thanks in part to WhatsApp Status (basically WhatsApp's version of Instagram Stories) overflowing with posts… She writes:

Hi, you guys! Some German states are on Pentecost break right now (a school holiday here in Germany), and lots of people are traveling. Which means the WhatsApp Status of a whole lot of people is in overdrive.

I'd love to know why people do this. Why post ten pictures a day? Why share every cocktail, usually an Aperol, because it looks so pretty next to blue water? And why write things like "Thank you to housekeeping" instead of just leaving a couple of euros for the staff?

WhatsApp Status from Hell

A good friend told me recently while she was posting, "Today I get to show off for once." And yesterday, on a hike: "These are going to make such great posts!"

Last week at a café, someone photographed her breakfast plate and posted it with the words "First order of business: make everybody jealous."
A neighbor once thanked me in her status for going on a walk with me. At this point, this behavior really gets on my nerves.

Does absolutely everything have to be shared with everyone? Does the possibility of making people jealous really make the experience more fun? Would anyone actually want friends like that? Would anyone want their own kids to see them that way? I think it's a truly sad development…

The younger generation gives me hope. They don't do this at all. They keep their Snapchat streaks alive with pictures of nothing. Or is that not what you're seeing?!