My Story
It’s not until you try to have a baby that you notice all the people around you having them. In your struggle to conceive, it becomes evident that you might be the only person who can’t.
Facebook makes it worse. Facebook tells the happy part of the story. In Facebook’s version of life, there are fancy vacations, engagements, marriages, and of course pregnancy announcements. Lots of pregnancy announcements. There are soon-to-be moms and dads holding adorable, homemade signs with the date of their baby’s arrival; there are cleverly staged movie posters; there are status updates about the baby’s growth; and there are lots of baby’s-first-Facebook photos.
It seems as though everyone on Earth has a baby, or will soon, except for you.
That’s the danger of social media; it doesn’t tell the whole truth.
No one shares photos of doctor visits or negative pregnancy results. Nobody posts about the complicated emotions that come with pregnancy. People post photos of their happiness and triumphs.
As someone trying to conceive, I see these happy posts and my gut reaction is to feel jealous. I’m angry with these women for getting pregnant. I’m angry with them for bragging about it. But more than anything, I’m angry with myself for feeling that way.
I believe, however, that you can have empathy for just about anyone if you take the time to hear her story. I know that behind every one of those status updates is a story, maybe even a struggle. I want to tear down the mask of social media and find out what that story is.
I want to connect with these women on a personal level so that I can feel empathy for them, be happy for them, and find peace for myself.
The Plan
To create an audio and photographic essay, similar in style to The New York Times’ One in 8 Million, that captures the stories of five women and their experiences trying to get pregnant. The goal is to expose the real stories that led up to the one photo that they posted on Facebook.