People seem to "smile" a great deal more on the internet, where you see lotsa smilies and emoticons all over the place.

This is seriously degrading. It takes so much to smile in life, to have that expression on ya despite the damn nasty things you may be facing. Yet all it takes is a " =) " in substitution, on the virtual platform.

And also, photographs. My friend was telling me, "aww.. see how sweet these couples are in the photos!"
I mean, would anyone take photos of themselves arguing with their partner?

Such things paint an over optimistic picture of bliss in life. I'm an optimist, but a realistic one too. It takes a great deal of observation to distinguish true happiness from a facade.

So the next time you are tempted to feel that someone out there is better off because he looks happier, Don't.