Trying not to compare ourselves to others on social media....

When taking a psychology course, I wrote a paper on the effects of social media. It was there that I told the younger adults in my class that what made their lives easier also made their life more complicated. I had a in depth conversation about how things were so different when I was in college well over 40 years ago. I never got more than one chance on a test, I did not have auto correct, or the back key lol. I had to hand write my papers and correct my own spelling and punctuation. Back then, we had to come in before class, or after, or during office hours to speak with a professor. We did not have email or group text. Yes, that is correct. We did not even have email. Sounds horrible. However, I explained all the upside to not having all these things. Believe me, they were listening when I said the same exact tools available today, were also creating problems. An example is spell check. If you never correct a word on your own, you will find it harder to learn. I told them that google maps has made me lazy in not really knowing where I am going and in what direction. There was also the amount of time wasted on Tictoc, Instagram, and FB. But, most importantly, our youth are using social media to compare themselves to others in damaging ways. Social media can be a comparison trap that encourages us to question aspects of our own lives. Comparing ourselves to others is a common part of human social life and can serve as a way to see where we stand in a group and whether we need to take some action to improve our performance. Comparing ourselves to others can motivate us to improve and develop a more positive self-image. Using comparisons to improve ourselves would be a good thing. However, we know that this takes maturity and wisdom. Young and immature kids comparing themselves to others can also have negative effects on our self-esteem and lead to feelings of jealousy, frustration, and hopelessness. It can evoke negative emotions like guilt, remorse, destructive behavior, deep dissatisfaction, and especially low self-esteem. We know as adults we do this sometimes and it can lead to negative feelings and now can you imagine what is does to the younger generation? I too have to remind myself of this continuously. Not everyone cooks beautiful meals every night. They only take pictures of dishes they are really proud of! You know you have caught yourself saying…”wow, they have an excited life”. Or, how about being told from others that you have to have approval before posting. Does anyone really post things that are not approval worthy? Here is my in rollers. Not pretty LOL.

Overall, while comparing ourselves to others is a normal process of human nature, it is important to regularly look inward to confront any possible negative emotions that it may cause. If you catch yourself slipping into this pattern, gently redirect your energy towards what really matters to you! And remind yourself that that meal that they cooked and took a picture of is most likely a special occasion!

Here is a meal I took a pic of! LOL. Shrimp swimming in butter cream sauce. I did not post earlier because my kitchen was a mess as well as the stove! See, we mostly share the good. Pan is a little messy as well. I was proud of the dish. Just didn't want to share the mess...I did edit for the blog and cut out what I did not want to share. Have a beautiful day!