Whether you get 10, 200 or even 1,000 likes, never let Instagram likes define the type of person you are.

The age of social media has not been the gilded age that is depicted on everyone’s feeds. Instead, it consists of going to events purely to take pictures rather than to enjoy the experience itself. Why go to concerts just to watch the concert through your camera lens to prove to others that you are not alone on your couch watching Netflix? I admit it, I am guilty of it like the rest of my generation; however, this problem has recently been driven to the forefront of my mind through a series of events.

As a college student, you are gifted with the chance to have all different friends groups. For me it was my friends from high school, camp friends, college friends etc. and of course each one of those friend groups needs to have a group chat. These group chats are amazing to help you stay in touch over long distances and keep up to date on all of the gossip.

Recently, these group chats have turned into, “Please like and comment on my Instagram” and “ Guys I’m one away from 400 likes, please make sure you liked it using your finsta, rinsta and food insta.” I have pushed this to the side for years as nothing significant.

One day, however, my friend spent the entire day debating between which of two pictures she should post and which of the two captions would work best. I sat watching this go down all day trying to process it, but eventually, I had enough and put a stop to it. No picture on social media should consume an entire day.

This incident really started to make me think about how we are so consumed by what others think of us through social media that we forget what we really want or like. My friend obviously had a favorite picture and caption but was scared that people thought she looked too large in it or the background wasn’t “artsy” enough. WHY SHOULD IT MATTER?

I am by no means self- confident or understand my self- worth, but I know that I will no longer let how many likes define me. Yes, I was the type of girl to sit, staring at my phone for an hour after I posted a photo watching the likes roll in. But now I post for myself.

College has been both a terrifying place and an enlightening one. I have met the most amazing women who post silly photos of themselves on their couch makeup-less having the time of their lives who get only… four likes (gasp).

These women are the future movers and shakers of our generation (engineers, future senators, doctors etc.) and they live for themselves, not others. I’m not perfect and I know that it will take time to get over this mentality, but it is something we can all work towards. Live life for yourself, not for the gram.