In today's day and age, it's common for people to post about their daily lives, to let other people see what they're up to or working on. It gives us a way to communicate with anything around the globe way faster than we could do with letters.

But there seems to always be a downside to the good, and in this instance, it involves with self-esteem and confidence issues that are associated the social media. And you may think that it's ridiculous. Why would people feel worse about themselves when they should be seeing inspiration from others? From a personal experience, that's how it starts.

I follow accounts of beautiful girls who are living their best lives traveling and having fun, I follow the accounts of the really fit people to inspire myself to get out to the gym, I follow the talented people so maybe I can realize my talent...and yet I find myself digging a deeper and deeper hole of negative thoughts. Why can't I look like her? Why can't I be fit like them? Why am I stuck here when I should be traveling before I get too old?

Seeing other people succeed has been creating this kind of self-hate for those of us who maybe aren't as fortunate. A recent study showed that about 51% of people are more conscious about their appearance after joining social media, and that number keeps on getting higher and higher. It only makes me worried that there are people out there who start to dislike themselves and wish they were different, all based on a few posts from different accounts that could be totally fake (which is sometimes the case).

Now I'm not saying that social media is a horrible thing that we need to get rid of because people are struggling. No way, I actually enjoy my Instagram and Snapchat. I think what we need to do is educate people that they are who they are and they should accept themselves. Yes, there are many super fortunate people out there showing off what they have in life, but that should make us thankful for the things we have too. For example, I'm fortunate enough to have a wonderful sisterhood at school who loves me for who I am, and maybe I'll show it off a bit.

Social media should not be something that tears us down in jealousy and self-hatred, it was made for communicating with the rest of the world, for inspiring others and showing what we're thankful for.

If you're finding yourself in the same situation that others are, it might be time for a social media break. You don't have to delete them off of your phone or computer forever, but it would probably be wise to log off for however long you feel you need to. Detaching yourself from the online world will give you the opportunity to take in the world around you, make you thankful for the things you have, and hopefully let you learn to love yourself.