“Update Profi le Picture.” This very visible invitation at the top of your Facebook page can be quite tempting. To be or not to be. To change or not to change. My longtime friend, Elna, recently wondered (in a Facebook post) what motivated people to choose specifi c photos as their profi le pictures. She thought that a profi le pic was a “projection” of how people wanted others to see them. If you choose a pet, you want to convey that you are an animal lover. If your profi le depicts you with your husband or wife or life partner at your side, you want to be seen as a loving, caring, stable person. How often should one change one’s profi le picture? What about using this spot on Facebook to express your support for something? (Remember Je Suis Charlie?) Is it appropriate to use an old photo? There were some interesting comments in the ensuing discussion. Someone wrote that she used a picture of herself when she was four years old because “that specifi c photo makes me very happy”. Another person said that he had never given much thought to
his profi le pic, and that his children usually updated it for him when they thought it was time. “But now I worry… ”, he wrote. A pragmatic view was that one should at least use a picture of yourself as an adult so that old friends who wanted to fi nd you, could recognise you. It probably all depends on what Facebook means to you. Do you want to “market” yourself? Are you selling something? Someone made the comment that she wanted to live “in the now” and that she often updated her profi le picture to refl ect her journey at that specifi c point. I guess it doesn’t really matter. Do what you do do well, boy. Do what you do do well. Give your love and all of your heart, And do what you do do well. (I chose a silhouette picture of my profile as my Profi le Picture. I got rid of a lot of wrinkles that way.)
Albé Grobbelaar
