Thursday, September 19, 2013

Comparing Yourself to a Facebook Profile

I often wonder if it would have been easier to grow up in my parents' generation, or even the one before that. A time without the immediacy technology gives us today.

But that's a very broad topic to be covered at a later date.

I want to focus more on social media and its effects on society, specifically how we compare ourselves to others, just from their online presence.

I have heard, and taken part in, many conversations that go something like this:
     "Everyone on Facebook is getting married."
     "Everyone is starting to have babies."
     "So-and-so just got a job and is moving to China."

I don't know. Something along those lines. People love to chitchat about who is dating whom, who procured employment, and just who in general is making better life progress than they.

It's so frustrating to be constantly bombarded with people's life updates: their accomplishments, their happiness, their steps toward creating the perfect life they always wanted.

We receive these notifications and interpret the message as failure in our own personal journey. It seems that our accomplishments pale in comparison with those of our friends and colleagues.

But that reasoning is illogical, because our perception of someone from glimpsing at his or her social media profile is a distortion of reality.

We are comparing our everyday struggles and insecurities with everyone else's highlight reel.

And this has been happening for awhile with celebrities. We see their success stories without knowing the hardships, decisions, and setbacks they faced. This gives us an alluring, yet false sense of hope that we may obtain the same successes, only without the hard work (because that's the part of the equation we never see).

Only recently has the same phenomenon spread to the everyman. A new world of online profiles has emerged with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, MySpace, SquareSpace, and lots of other spaces that provide instant access to another person's life. You can immediately learn about the person you just met, and they can update that information within seconds at anytime from anywhere in the world.

But here's the thing: you are only seeing what they want you to see. That individual builds their online image only with what they are willing to post. So you are never really seeing the full picture.

And it's one thing to understand this, as I think most people do. It's another to actually fight your subconscious's inference that your performance is somehow subpar because it doesn't match what it sees from others on Facebook.

The best thing you can do is to be yourself. So cliché, yet so powerful.

Everyone is on their own unique path. And despite what their profiles may suggest, everyone is experiencing failure and uncertainty. Instead of negatively comparing yourself to what others advertise, support them in their efforts and continue doing your best without worrying about how they are living their lives.

So don't be afraid to make mistakes, just because you worry your track record won't look as impressive as someone else's if you experience failure and setbacks. Failure is the best way to learn and grow.

Remember, it's your unique journey, and I implore you to enjoy it every step of the way!

Here's the part where I ask you to look at my social media if you want...just don't negatively compare yourself to me ;) I'm doing my own weird thing.

Follow the Moose Trail:
Twitter @KaitlinMoose

Do you compare yourself to other people on Facebook? How does social media influence your self-esteem? Let me know with a comment below!

And if you liked this post, don't forget to share it with your friends! And happy Thoughtful Thursday!

1 comment:

  1. Made me think of this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wait-but-why/generation-y-unhappy_b_3930620.html

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