There are so many ways our lives can go. With just a few taps on our smartphone, a flood of perfectly edited pictures pop up. On our feeds, we see the woman who just got an extraordinary promotion, the travel vlogger that’s always seeking adventure while living in a van, the college graduate who finally achieved their doctorate, or the couple who bought their first house. We see people living in grand cities, like New York or Tokyo, where they walk through high-spirited streets with giant billboards and fluorescent lights that provide the perfect illumination for “candid” photos. On the other hand, there are those who moved across the globe to settle down in some majestic meadow to live a quiet and content life. Not only are we shown these people’s locations and career choices, but it’s all shared using a certain aesthetic and color palette. It’s as if everything we do has to fit together seamlessly, like pieces in a puzzle that create a single flawless image.
Growing up on social media is overwhelming, since we’re in a stage of life where we barely know anything, but are expected to define who we are and what we will be. Although the internet lets us know about the infinite choices we have, it is a double-edged sword. Before the boom of social media, people, when it came to choosing what to do with their life, only had to worry about finding a path. They couldn’t simply look up career ideas or places they could go to; instead, they had to let life take its course and let destiny be the judge of where they ended up. People would stumble upon something that sparked their interest, follow that path, and see it through. If it was a dead end, then they’d look for another one. If they found a satisfying destination, then the rest is history.
However, today it’s not so much about finding a path, but about picking one and sticking to it. This generation is always at a crossroads. Social media puts these potential scenarios on blast every day when you open your smartphone. It’s impossible not to be pressured by questions like “What if I do this instead of this?” or “What choice is good enough?”. Hence, it’s almost impossible to choose. Meanwhile, if you somehow manage to pick a path, you’re left looking over your shoulder, wondering if you made the right choice. It’s hard to focus and be confident about what you’ve decided to be when you ‘re constantly bombarded by idealized images of those who chose paths you once considered, but turned down. Then again, whatever you choose won’t look nearly as good as those pictures anyway.