The Tension Between Connection and Performance

This morning I was out early on my bike and, as is often the case, ended up down at the Two Road dock. The water was dead calm, one sailboat sitting quietly offshore. I stopped, made a couple of images, and then just stood there for a bit, taking in the tranquility.

And then, as I always seem to do, I thought about whether or not to post it.

My relationship with social media is… complicated. I’ve gone through stretches where I’m really active and stretches where I want nothing to do with it. Part of me loves sharing these small scenes – especially because I hear from people now and then that it brings them a bit of peace or joy to see them pop up in their feed. That matters to me. I like knowing something simple I’ve seen might brighten someone else’s day.

But here’s where I wrestle: alongside that genuine connection is this weird, creeping sense of virtue shopping.

You know what I mean – the subtle game of performing goodness online, where posting a serene photo or sharing thoughtful words becomes just another way to polish up the image we present. I’m uneasy about that. I don’t want to fall into the trap of making everything transactional, or worse, performative. And even though my heart’s in the right place, I catch myself questioning why I’m sharing something – and what it really adds to the conversation.

That tension is always there. The simple joy of showing something beautiful… tangled up with all the messiness of the online world.

I don’t have a neat answer. I’ll keep posting when it feels right, and keep questioning it too. Hopefully, the moments I do share come across in the spirit they’re meant: no agenda, no rules – just an honest look at the things I find beautiful.