Reality feels painful when we use social media as a benchmark for life.
Well, THAT’S a long title!
Guys, I’m assessing my relationship with social media at the moment, mostly Instagram. It’s not that I dislike the platform, it’s that I don’t think it is working for small businesses at the moment.
And - I sometimes get jealous of other people I see on there. Enough so that it kind of distracts from my day a little.
I am not unique in this, social media is designed to keep you coming back and wanting more. But it pulls on a part of us that isn’t kind to ourselves, and sometimes it pulls on a part of us that’s painful!
I sometimes find myself heading over to a page of someone I unfollowed because I am nosey, and interested, and it’s like a flipping draw in!
But when we start to use social media so much that we use it as a benchmark for how we SHOULD live our lives - it’s time for a break! Because it’s painful to live in a place of comparison, it’s painful to sit in a world of “I’m shit” and it’s unfair to our own lives to remind ourselves of our wasted potential. I have a theory that jealousy comes up for us when we believe we have “wasted our potential”. What does that even mean?! What a damn capitalist statement. But we live in a capitalist society.
Our relationship with jealousy and social media is fraught with complexities, maybe it’s an idea I’ll dive into at a later date… What do you think? I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts!
Until next time… L xx