When thinking of what to write about in this blogpost, I went to other posts for inspiration. Many of the stories were relatable and well formulated points. This made me unsure about what to write myself. I began comparing my writing skills and creativity with theirs. What topic is good enough to write about? And will others like it?
If you are on any social media app or website, you will know the feeling of scrolling through endless pictures and videos of people you know or even strangers. At first it is interesting and entertaining, but soon you start feeling guilty. All of these people are doing something and you are just on your phone looking at them. You may start feeling lazy and anxious. You need to also do something productive, like the people on your screen.
These feelings stem from you comparing yourself to others on social media. And even though they can be valid at times, like when you have been scrolling for hours, they aren’t always productive. When you are on social media you scroll past many different people who live their own lives. You may see 20 different people showing their personal hobby and think you should also have multiple hobbies. But you forget that these 20 people each have one hobby. You are just one person, so comparing yourself with 20 people is not productive.
Another topic in which you may compare yourself to others is looks. Because of social media you can see even more people than you would in real life. This allows for even more comparison on physical appearance. The prettiest people according to current beauty standards go viral and are shown more. This in turn can make you feel insecure, because you compare your average looking self to these strangers, who often have gotten work done to their appearance to fit the beauty standards.
Social media also seems to uphold beauty trends for a small period of time until something else becomes more desirable or a new insecurity is “unlocked”. This way you keep having new trends to compare yourself with. I personally remember “unlocking” a new insecurity of my thighs when I was younger, as I did not have a so-called “thigh gap” like other girls on social media.
Beauty standards have existed since the beginning of human civilization, but I do think social media has amplified the comparison between people by a lot.
Finally, you can also start to compare your digital accomplishments with others. One of the main reasons we post on social media is to be seen by others and often to be liked by others. When you don’t get enough views or likes on a post you might feel inclined to delete your post. You can find it cringe to have a low amount of engagement on your post, because you care so much about being seen, like other viral posts.
This negative comparison can discourage you from posting at all. Which on the one hand is fine, not everybody needs to post on social media. But on the other hand, you might want to post but now are feeling too insecure to do so.
At the end of the day, comparison is inevitable, whether you do it online or in real life. Digital and social media allows us to compare ourselves more, but it also challenges us to look at our own insecurities and take action. So either put away your phone or learn to stop comparing yourself to others as much. Because remember, you are in control of your own “happiness”.
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