As 2016 had just begun and I should have been happier than ever, I just could not shake this uncomfortable feeling of dissatisfaction. I tried analyzing myself to figure out where it was coming from because I knew I was happy, but something was holding me back. I was pondering this while simultaneously watching friends’ snapchat stories and scrolling through my Instagram and Twitter newsfeeds…I’m not too sure why I didn’t pick up on the origin of my discomfort right then.
I was comparing myself to others via social media. Comparing ourselves to others is a natural tendency for us as human beings, but it had gotten to a point where it was harming my happiness. I began doing it without even having my social media apps open. I would constantly think of posts I had seen, and how I wanted my life to be that exciting or adventurous. It was a constant knocking in the back of my mind at the door of jealousy.
But I had nothing to be jealous about, because although what other people had or what other people were doing was different than my own life that did not equate to it being better.
I realized I needed to make a step in the right direction and make it so that I was unable to create these damaging comparisons. I deactivated my Twitter and decided to take a much needed break from Instagram and Snapchat for two weeks. You don’t realize how much you use something until you take a step back from it. The amount of times I went to open those applications just to remember they were gone is countless. I must admit though, those two weeks became extremely productive without the distraction of social media.
So, now that I have my accounts back, what exactly has this social media hiatus done for me? Well, for starters I have gone to sleep much happier every night since getting rid of these detrimental comparisons that social media helped me create. I’ve learned to live in the moment. No more “Wait! Let me record that for my snapchat story!”, “Hang on the lighting isn’t right here for my insta post!” or “Say that one more time, I wanna tweet it!” Imagine that…living a life without having to show it off to the rest of the world.
After taking my much needed social media vacation, I feel confident that I will be able to have these accounts again with a newly developed understanding. Social media is so powerful. No one posts about the test they just failed, the breakup they just went through, or the awful week they’ve been having. People only post the good things in their lives, the things they want people to see, how they want people to view them. It’s easy to think your life is boring compared to other’s “exciting” or “adventurous” lives because that’s all they post about themselves. Don’t believe everything you see, and stop comparing yourself to them. I was so caught up in it that I never realized this before getting myself away from it.
I am living my own individual life and I am done comparing it to that of others.