Social media is the most influential platform in this day in age. Everyone from your parent to a celebrity is on social media. It’s the easiest way to express opinions and share a sneak peek into your life. But what it doesn’t show, are the times in your life when things get tough.
What we see everyday on people’s Facebook or Instagram is a highlight. A highlight of their life. The good picture of you. Sharing the news that you received a full time job. All the great events that occur in an individual’s life. Not once have I seen a status on Facebook stating that someone lost their job or didn’t get the job. No one is going to share the night of their breakup or a picture of them crying themselves to sleep. It’s all a facade. That is the reason I’m not the biggest fan of social media.
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This leads us to only thinking the people that we follow have the perfect life. Seems like everyone we follow on social media lives a mistake free life and nothing detrimental has ever occurred. That gives us a platform to compare ourselves. Following that Instagram model that posts pictures of themselves and questioning your workout routine. What you don’t see is the strict diet the model follows or how they have to hit the gym twice a day, just to maintain their body. They might be constantly thinking about their body, and not their life.
It’s so easy to envelop yourself in someone else’s life on social media. As soon as you follow them, you see their every move. That’s when we start to compare ourselves. Look at how many followers they have and wonder why you don’t have the same amount. When all this starts to happen, our self-worth starts to dwindle. Your self-worth does not have a certain amount of followers. As every flawless selfie is uploaded, we keep thinking how can someone be that perfect. They aren’t perfect. What you don’t see is them not being perfect.
No one is happy all the time. It’s just impossible. We are humans. Unfortunately, people are prone to have a bad day. What if we didn’t get the job? What if your boyfriend dumped you? That’s okay. The sun will still come up the next day. Maybe next time share the bad news on social media. People have gone through similar events and that can give them a sense of relief. If I read a post about having a bad day, that might incline me to support that individual. Social media can build the community and we can support each other, which is commonly unseen. There can be a whole new aspect to social media if people did share their hard times.
So next time you see that person on Facebook that has the perfect life, know that they do not. They have ups and downs. And although social media does not show that, it does exist. Know that your life is just as important as theirs.
