Usually, when we pop onto social media for a quick scroll-through, we see people living their best life. A day on the beach, fun family challenges, winning competitions, a shopping haul. You’ll always see smiles on social media, always the highlights of the day. But more often than not, the arguments and the cleaning and the hard labour is not shown. This can create a feeling of incompetence because your life may not be all rainbows as reflected on social media.
However, it’s important to remember that on social media, people will never show the work that led up to whatever milestone they are sharing. They will never show the arguments or the hasty cleaning session before the family photoshoot. Social media will never accurately portray real life and that is something many people often forget.
Additionally, social media can provoke a sharp sense of loneliness due to FOMO-the fear of missing out. Seeing pictures of friends and family can evoke feelings of being purposely left out even though more than often it isn’t on purpose. This might lead to self-destructive thinking, which in turn leads to higher rates of depression and anxiety. In this way, the brain overthinks due to the elaborate so-called “perfect” lifestyle captured in snapshots across the web.
Constantly comparing yourself to a partially-shown reality isn’t healthy at all. So when you look at photos of a nice day out, remind yourself that it probably isn’t like that all the time. Social media is evolving to be a dangerous platform where reality is hard to distinguish from fake content. So, be careful-and always remember that life is never fully positive.
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