@pexels
Vacations, festivals, parties, friends, fancy dinners, great family time. Life seems so perfect for the people that I follow on the social media. Seems like nothing could go wrong. I explore the reels and try watch some comedic shorts, but they are not about fun and games anymore. They're about work, grind and discipline and how nothing is enough until you earn enough and are successful.
This summer hasn't been a huge success for me. Actually it's probably the worst summer so far. I had to move to another town away from my spouse and my friends, and I have nobody to be with on my spare time. Luckily I get the weekends off, but they go by too fast. I got scammed when I was searching for a flat and I had to pay for two apartments for the whole summer. The job I got doesn't match quite my expectations after all. I just hope this summer would end already.
Scrolling through my feed had made my misfortune to feel that much bigger. I have felt empty inside, like I was worthless, like I hadn't achieved anything. I was supposed to be much more of a professional in my field after the summer, but I'm not so sure of it now. Despite my huge ambition and effort it seems like I'm the one going nowhere while everybody else does. Sometimes I just wonder why do I even try. Somehow I just keep consuming this content and believe I have to be similar, because that's the only way to be happy. Huh, no wonder I feel under the weather, especially in times like these.
The pink pamper
@pexels
Let's say your friend post a family portrait. All you see is happy smiling faces, the food on the table looks delicious, saliva starts to fill your mouth and your stomach growls like a tiger. It seems like a situation you would like to be in too.
What you don't see, is how long did they try to get that proper shot and was everyone happy after that. You have no clue that actually it was a terrible night after the post. Taking the photo took so long that the food got cold. Also you friend got in to a fight with one of the family members and now the two won't talk to each other. Not so much of a night you want to remember, huh?
One of the main problems with the social media is that the pictures and videos don't tell the whole story. It actually tells just a tiny thing about the whole scene, the thing you are meant to see.
How many times you've seen someone posting about how they lost their job and now they can't wait to figure out how to pay for the next rent? That's right, not many times. You're watching a highlight reel of other's lives, you don't know the whole story. They have bad days and misfortunes too, they just don't let everybody know. Everything is kind of wrapped in a pink, comfortable pamper.
I wanted to take a step back from all of this to see how it would effect my life. I wanted to be happier and ditch my habit of comparing myself to the others. After all the only one I should be comparing myself to is me.
My social media detox
It's been three weeks now since I left social media. I deleted my Facebook and twitter permanently and logged out from Instagram and deleted the app from my phone.
After these weeks I'm glad to see that there has been an improvement to my mental health and my mood in general. I am much more relaxed and more present in the conversations. Also my productivity has risen to another level. I don't fidget my phone nearly as often so I have much more time to spend for other things like reading books, or to start this blog. This detox has been surprisingly easy as I haven't really missed going back to Facebook or Instagram like I thought I would, I have felt free.
After not seeing how the other's are doing it's has given me an opportunity to examine my own life in a more unbiased point of view. Yes, there has been a couple of stumbling stones where the apartment mess is just a scratch. But now I've started to see that there is loads of good things about this summer as well.
For example my work doesn't seem that bad after all. I've learned a lot about my field in practice and learned a plenty of new skills, and I'm sure it will help me in the future. I managed to get myself a proper apartment even though my situation seemed desperate. I took a huge leap to the unknown and earned my first salary as a part-time entrepreneur. I got engaged and I feel that this summer has drawn me and my fiancée closer together than ever before. It actually seems like ai had a decent summer after all.
When you have a feed full of highlights, it easily gives you a twisted thoughts about life. Consuming too much such content makes you compare your life to others's, which make you think your life and your achievements much worthless than they actually are.
Imagine if you just bought a car. It's not the newest, it's actually 15 years old and has rust everywhere, but hey it works and it can take you to work. You are so thrilled that you call your friends to come and see it. You drive around the town "searching for your dog" just to show it to everyone.
But how would you feel if someone posted a picture of their brand new shining Mercedes right after your purchase? I bet you wouldn't feel as good about your car anymore as before seeing that post, would you?
How about you guys, have you felt that the social media has pushed you down and made you feel worse about yourself? And have you thought about detox or tried it?
Btw, I just found myself a "dumbphone" and I can't wait for it to arrive so I can finally start my challenge. More on that in later posts.
Logging off for now, thank you for reading and I hope you have a good one!
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