Let’s face it…we all want to be liked, and for our generation that means way more than just someone thinking we’re fun to be around. We might not want to admit it but we LOVE to get likes whether it’s on the perfect Instagram selfie showcasing your fun and amazing life, your new gadgets and gizmos, #food or even a picture with your significant other. We live in a time where if there’s no pics to prove it, then it must not have really happened. Yet..what is this constant sharing doing to our self-esteem?
Just think only 10 years ago, we were just getting into social media. The hottest site was Myspace and the only thing we had to worry about was who was going to be in our top 8, if we were even allowed to have an account. Now it seems like everyone, including kids, have some sort of social media giving a glimpse into their personal lives.
We might even ask ourselves “When did I start to do cool things only so that I could get at least thirty likes?” Getting validation from social media isn’t always a bad thing. We’ve seen how people get their stories out on social media and gain a whole new community of support which helps to inspire and heal…..much like Tess Holiday, the first size 24 model who started the #EffYourBeautyStandards campaign which celebrates all body types by going against the unrealistic beauty standards that make people feel like they are never good enough. But what happens if the only reason we post is to gain attention to ourselves?
How many times have you or your friends stopped and said “We should get a picture, this would look so good on Insta” or your bestie has even stopped you from taking a bite of a burger so that they could take a cool shot of your food? It may seem like nothing’s wrong with that, but then right after posting the picture do they see how many likes they get in the first few minutes of it being up. If it hasn’t gotten at least five likes before it was uploaded three minutes, are they disappointed in the low number of likes?
I admit I am VERY guilty of doing all of the above but I didn’t realize that it was a learned behavior that’s constantly around me. If you follow celebrities on any social media platform than you know just how many selfies they take and how they receive hundreds of thousands of likes in mere minutes, even cute dog accounts get a couple thousand too. Kim Kardashian West is known for her endless Instagram selfies that she even has a book complied with them in it. I had to ask myself a question one day “How are you going to base your worth on how many likes, favorites, retweets or followers that you gain?’ I took a step back from social media for a while and I noticed that some of the things I posted were only for certain people because I knew the topic would definitely land me a couple likes and favorites on a multitude of social media sites. Before I could even appreciate the real natural beauty in my surroundings, I was already thinking of a cool caption.
You’re probably thinking….’What’s the lesson I learned from this whole experience?’ I learned that the most important “Like” that I could get had to come from myself. It didn’t matter if my selfie only got seven likes or a picture with my best friends only got 12 likes. What truly mattered to me was that I was liking myself first and everyone elses’ “Likes” came in last place.