Summary: Do you constantly compare yourself to others on social media? If so, you should definitely consider taking a break from it for a while.
Social media can be a great way to connect with old friends and family, as well as make new acquaintances and grow your network. However, if you find yourself feeling less worthy when you log on, you might want to consider taking a break.
Even though there are so many benefits to our favorite apps like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, we can easily start comparing ourselves to everyone else we see, whether it’s what they’re doing, how they look, or how many likes or comments they receive. What we forget, however, when scrolling through our newsfeeds, is that what we see on someone’s social media is carefully chosen, crafted and posted by its author. We all choose what we put out there on the internet and most of us choose to paint ourselves in a positive light.
Have you ever scrolled through your Instagram or Facebook feed and come across that one person from high school that you feel like you’ll never measure up to? Or that person who always seems to be one step ahead of you in life, with the job that you want, or engaged/married, or having a baby? For those people you’re in touch with or even friends with, do you ever see that other person looking amazing, doing something great, and having 50 likes in 10 minutes?
Clearly they have it all together and everyone loves them, right? These other people may seem perfect and in control of their lives, but they’re just like you. No one is perfect and no one has everything together. There’s always something behind the scenes that you aren’t seeing on social media. You don’t know that they actually suffer from depression, or they’re struggling to get pregnant, or they hate their job or even themselves. We all have inner battles that don’t show up for our friends and family to see, let alone everyone on Facebook.
We have to stop comparing yourself to other people. We can never know their real story, so we have to focus on our stories, on our lives. Perfection doesn’t exist. We can only do our best, seek out joy, and share love with others. If comparison is something you struggle with, put down your phone and spend some time away from the screen and you’ll start feeling better about who you are and stop worrying about everyone else.