We all have conversations about the things we see on social media. We talk about what people are up to in their lives, people we like, don’t like, people we follow and look up to. We also sit around and discuss how they look, what they’re wearing, their number of followers, the interaction they get on their posts and anything else we can glean from their posts. We also talk about how it’s not a real, kind of like when you first start dating someone, every one is just putting their best self forward to the world.
Even though we are aware that what is put out for public consumption isn’t necessarily truth so many people find themselves caught up in the comparison game and find themselves constantly feeling not good enough. They don’t feel beautiful enough, they don’t have as many followers, they aren’t living the picture perfect life that these other people seem to be. I personally have found myself talking people off the ledge recently (metaphorically of course) because they have deemed themselves not successful enough in life based on what they have seen on social media. We need to start being honest about this so there is perspective back in our lives!
While I am sure there are some people on this earth that are blissfully happy and ridiculously content in their lives and wanting for nothing, for most this is just not the case, despite what their social media pages might seem to say.
I think social media is amazing for so many reasons. It gives everyone a voice to share their thoughts and opinions, although sometimes when reading through threads I question if that is a pro when a conversation has lost all civility and respect and has just become people hurling insults at each other, but that is a whole other conversation. It gives us the opportunity to share news, stories and environmental issues that would have been so difficult to get out to a wider audience before – it was on Facebook I learnt about Palm Oil and the decimation of the rainforests in Borneo and Sumatra. Social media has bought us some incredible talent that maybe would have stayed hidden from the world because some executive didn’t deem them marketable. I look forward to a Celeste Barber post every day cause who doesn’t like to laugh! Then there are the influencers that have turned this medium in to their job and revenue stream. While I say good on them, let’s be honest about the whole situation. So much of what we see on social media is just not what it seems!
I love social media for giving us @celestebarber. To say her account is hilarious is an understatement. If you’re not already following her, you should be.
I have met influencers that have a huge following that are killing it and that’s great, but meeting them in person they look nothing like the photo-shopped images that we see in their feed every day. Thanks to all the apps now so easily available anyone can change their shape, complexion, whatever they need to in order to become the best version of themselves that they want to put out in to the world. I have people in my life who I know for a fact are unhappy with certain aspects of their life, but what is put forward to the world is a picture of complete carefree bliss that seems impossible to improve upon. What about that loved up couple that can’t seem to get enough of each other?? Are they really that in love? My point is something we all already know, each person is just putting our best self forward and there is nothing wrong with that at all, whatever makes us happy. What we do need to alter is how we react to everyone else’s posts. We need to stop comparing ourselves to all of these people, whether we know them or not. Who knows which of the people we are following have truly authentic pages or who are showing the image they are creating for themselves. Our individual success is not based on what we have in comparison to those people; our success is based on how far we have come from where we started. It is based on the integrity of the relationships we have in our lives. It is based on how we are facing the challenges life throws at us, and moving past them. Success is not how many followers we have or if our body is as tight as the people we follow but how fulfilling our life is to us. If we focus on our own lives and our own journey the joy that comes from that and our successes absolutely outweighs the joy we might get from having more followers than someone else. By focusing on our own lives rather than the comparison to everyone else all of our energy goes in to giving us exactly what we want and need.
The Kardashians are often making headlines for obviously photoshopping images.
It’s time to know and believe each and every one of us is enough!