Today, January 23rd, was a good day! Unfortunately, not every day is a good day and not every aspect of life is as perfect as we want it to be. I have been seeing various posts about social media and the emotional effects it has on society as a whole. Quite frankly, I could not agree more with many of these posts; they all contain a similar message- Social media is a highlight reel.
Social media is a highlight reel because you see what we chose to show. You see the good hair days, the 215th selfie, the fun adventure, and the times we feel love. You see the happy times, the adventurous times, and the positive experiences. You see the successful moments and the laughter and the happiness. You see the “after” picture which took years of diet and exercise. You see the good.
Do not get me wrong, I am a big fan of social media. I use it frequently and I feel inspired, encouraged, and grateful for a place to release my thoughts, jokes, feelings, and creative content. There is definitely a downside to social media though, and it is the worst when you’re feeling down or lonely or unhappy with your appearance. When you are feeling any of these negative emotions, and you chose to check into your social media, you can end up feeling much worse.
In my personal experiences, social media has definitely warped my perspective on life and appearance. I saw people partying and spending time with their friends, when I did not have any plans. I saw gorgeous super skinny models, when I felt ugly. I saw what could be, and what I thought I should be doing. I felt sad and I felt lonely. Social media hurt when I was a freshman in high school and did not have many friends or when I was a freshman in college and wanted to look a certain way to fit in. Boy, social media can really hurt. I think I first realized how fake it was when I was at a party in high school and a few girls showed up, took photos and then left. They barely stayed at the party yet the photos went up. Just as these girls did this, social media is warping reality all the time.
I am guilty of showing good days on social media and I hope to show more of the real days in 2018- more of the grind that I do to make these trips and dreams happen. You see, I do not post photos of me crying when I receive bad news or when I am upset. I do not post the bad times, where I struggled or felt extremely lonely. I am real with my posts, the happy times are happy and I show when life is good, because it is good. I try to remember gratitude and I remember to smile more often because I am truly blessed to even be able to share posts with you guys. I am blessed to be able to write this right now.
So, here is the moral of this post- remember the real and enjoy the present. Take social media for what it is- a creative outlet and leave social media for what it’s not- reality. Social media is not always real and the people you see are not always having that much fun. Enjoy your life, share what you are comfortable sharing and remember the good when you are feeling down. Remember that everyone has good days and everyone has bad days. You are only seeing a highlight reel, you are only seeing what others chose to show.
Becsea 