In today’s day and age, social media seems to be all that anyone cares about. Countless hours spent scrolling through photos and videos. Oftentimes, people of all ages find themselves looking at people that appear to be prettier, in better shape, and more likable than they find themselves. What people don’t realize is how dangerous this can be to one’s mental health. Constantly comparing yourself to others online can cause a warped perception of yourself and have detrimental effects to your mental health. This is a huge issue in today’s social world.
Many issues arise from comparing yourself to others online. Whether it’s strangers, celebrities, or your friends and family, constantly comparing yourself to others is a recipe for disaster. One of the main areas that social media comparisons can cause the most harm is self-worth. It’s important we love our bodies. Constantly comparing our negatives to other positives is perhaps the worst thing we can do to promote a positive self-image. Additionally, it’s important to keep in mind all of one’s countless positive traits while thinking of self-worth. Only focusing on one’s looks is a superficial and dangerous path that often leads to anything but happiness. It’s important to remember that our beauty is in our values, our character, and the way we treat ourselves and others. Only focusing on one’s image as a means of self-worth is a shallow path.
An additional factor to keep in mind while online is that people often only post their highest of highs. In addition to comparing one’s body to those online, people often compare their life as a whole to others. People feel that their life might be “boring” or “sad” in comparison to others. The absolute truth is, you really don’t know what others are dealing with or going through. And watching their “highlights” on social media, is most likely going to give you an inaccurate depiction of what their life is actually like. Sarah Paraszczak from The Odyssey writes in her article titled “People Only Show Their Good Side on Social Media” about this issue and goes into depth on this topic. One section gives an example saying, “Aesthetically laid out images of bottomless mimosa brunches, frequent gifts from a cute boyfriend, selfies showcasing flawless skin, mirror pictures of chic outfits with appearances by designer handbags and belts, and pictures taken in the middle of carefree laughter with friends, all coming together with a sort of down to earth, girl-next-door with everything any girl could ever want vibe. However, despite the enviable content of her Instagram, I’d learned through conversations with this girl that it was all carefully curated. Everything was put together to maintain the public image that she was a happy-go-lucky, carefree girl.” Here Sarah paints a clear depiction of the same issue that I have been describing. You really do not know anyone from there online profile. So therefore, there’s no need to judge yourself based on a false reality.
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/people-only-show-their-good-side-on-social-media-9-18
Overall, it’s no secret that the dangers of social media comparisons are countless. The overall negative effects aren’t worth it at the end of the day. Looking at unrealistic online portrayals of other people’s lives and wishing that they were your own, often just end up bringing people down. The negative impact that it can have on one’s mental health aren’t only sad as a whole, but can even be dangerous. It’s important to love yourself to the fullest extent. And that means having love for much more than your superficial looks. After all, one day we are all bound to age, it’s important to love yourself for who you are as a person and not just the way that you or your social media account looks.
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