Every time I open up Instagram, I see smiling faces and happy lives. My feed is all fun and joy, void of the struggles I’m sure are present in each and every one of our lives. Social media platforms, particularly Instagram, allow us to present ourselves on the greenest grass with the bluest skies and the perfect angles; we package and market ourselves to the world exactly the way we want. I’m sure we’re all aware of it, but regardless of our awareness, this constant exposure to near-perfection influences our perception of everyone around us as having better lives than us.
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Even when our lives feel stormy and turbulent and our hearts twinge with dissatisfaction, our feeds allow us a level of control that’s unparalleled in other aspects of our lives. We control our social media brand down to the tee. Yet, as I’m sure you’re aware, the stories presented to us on Instagram are far from the truth and they barely scrape the surface of gritty reality.
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The social media scam is a disease that increasingly plagues our society. No matter how green our own grass is, Instagram convices us it’s never enough. We’re never pretty enough, fit enough, happy enough, or loved enough. Compared to others, we’re fundamentally never enough. We’re aware of the scam, but we still buy into it. Now, instead of living in the moment, we often live for the Instagram post.
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I guess this is a ramble, but my challenge to you is this: take a step back. It’s so easy to just scroll through Instagram when you’re bored and have some time to kill, but this will inevitably lead to feelings of inadequacy and insecurity. Your feed is not reflective of your happiness. No matter how cohesive your Instagram profile is, if you aren’t happy when you step away from your social media profile, your feed is meaningless. Life is more than a pixelated rectangle that you upload to the internet. I know—this is cheesy and repetitive. I’m not saying to give up social media, but post smarter and post wiser, and scroll smart and wiser as well. Keep in mind that what you see on your phone screen is not what you should scale your life towards.