Have you ever scrolled social media and wondered, what a fabulous life everyone has.!? Or to put in clearer words have you felt jealous by looking at your friend’s pictures?
Honesty first!
Yes, I have felt jealous. I always wanted to go on that vacation to the beaches of Europe. Those mushy pictures which all the couples post, make me want to drag my husband on a vacation, just to get pictures clicked! Not because I want to enjoy it or I need a break. Just plainly for show off.
So that’s the kind of influence social media has on most of us, I feel.
What do we see on social media?
The moment we open any of our social media handles, we see the fancy life of people. Celebrities or non-celebrities. Everyone seems to be blessed by the universe.
The most lavish houses, cars. Loads of money. Good figure and skin. The most well-behaved kids. Loving husband and inlaws. Their life seems oh so perfect. What more can one ask for!?
(We obviously don’t know what goes around behind those pictures. Only if our friends would be kind enough to share the behind-the-scenes clips, where the toddler is crying and parents are pulling their hair. I am pretty sure that couple fights can get more likes and views.)
Impact of social media
Agree to it or not, we just want what we see on social media. That works perfectly for the brands because that’s what advertisements are all about.
That’s the positive impact of social media.
Like the two sides of a coin, it also has a negative impact where we, as viewers, feel jealous or feel less of ourselves by looking at someone’s life.
The sudden feeling of sadness by looking at someone’s pictures is the most common and stupid thing.
A person born with one leg can learn to dance because they accept themselves the way they are. But a jealous person with everything in life can’t feel content. That’s because a jealous person doesn’t know how to count blessings in his life.
How social media affects us.
We feel less confident in ourselves and start comparing our life with someone else and focus more on the things that we don’t have in life. And it all ends by taking out our frustration on people around us.
Its all like a chain process which never leads to anything good.
Some reality checks
As they say, you are sad when your friend is sad but you are sadder when your friend is happy.
A few days back, I was tired of all the workload. It was one of the days, where juggling between the office pressure and household chores was making me go insane. So after yelling at my husband and kids, I started scrolling down my social media page. (That’s what me-time is these days.)
I started scrolling through the pictures of my cousin who is my age and now lives in Canada.
We were very close in our childhood years. Often spent vacations together but now we don’t speak to each other. Time difference and lifestyle difference are to be blamed.
I am a married woman and she is a successful entrepreneur. She obviously has new friends and a luxurious lifestyle which keep her busy.
While scrolling through the pictures I got the notification that it’s her birthday, I decided to call her. (Honestly, because I wanted to know more about her lavish lifestyle.)
We had a long conversation, almost for an hour. To my surprise, she sounded pretty normal(in my head she had become a snobbish bitch)
She told me how lonely she feels. How much she misses her family, especially on special occasions. She even said that she loves to watch our family pictures.
Never could I imagine a strong beautiful woman that I see on social media crying herself to sleep.
The conversation was a wake-up call for me. It made me think about the unseen behind the perfect pretty pictures on social media.
The realization
A conversation with the person I wanted to trade my life with made me realize that no one has a perfect life. We all know where our shoe is biting but never know how badly the other person’s foot is hurting.
We all have been blessed by the universe but are just not thankful enough for what we have.
Note:
I don’t think that social media is all about the negatives(well, I am using it to share my views with you right now.)
It’s how you take it. Take social media as motivation.
A happy person can never be jealous of anyone and they very well know how to be content with what they have.
Work harder if you want to buy that luxurious house like your friend.
Click happy alone selfies. They are much better than frowning couple pictures
Go on holiday to live life to the fullest and not just to show off.
Remember, happiness can’t be seen. It can just be felt.
Wow this is like someone read my mind.. comparing our lives to others makes us feel less blessed n less loved n less fortunate. But real happiness can not be judged through the pictures we chose to post, coz they are just a fraction of our lives!
So well written and practical advice!! I too have learnt a lot from experiences,I always take the social media as stuff to learn from- the good and honestly m good at ignoring -the bad,or stuff that dsnt resonate with me or my life but I do stay tolerant towards the other person’s life and choices as u’ve rightly pointed out ..to one their own…and that’s the best view towards a happy healthy life.
Such a wonderful read!
Well expressed, I do believe that comparing oneself to to other doesn’t give us happiness or that lavish or fancy thing which we must have seen…so let’s stay contented with what all we have because everyone can’t have everything.
Good read, awesome content..keep enlightening us with your writing 😊
Very good post about being jealous of someone’s lifestyle. Highly informative and nicely written. Keep up the good work.
What a beautiful topic ! Very deeply everyone should have realisation to be happy for all , happy for others success…. But it’s happening other way round , so this article was a nice breeze of air to be aware of this problem! Thanks buddy for your lovely share!
Being jealous of other’s lifestyles gives nothing but pain. If someone achieved that I prefer to appreciate it and learn from it. There are many sacrifices one needs to make to enjoy such a lifestyle. If you are talented you will achieve that and if not, accept that you are made for something else in which you are talented. Work on that and enjoy the beauty of life
Such a wonderful article dear 👏👏
Social media has both negetive and positive effects it’s upto us what we choose. I have learn so many new things from social media this year.
Yes agree with your thoughts completely. many times we made a pre conceive notion about other people’s lives by seeing their beautiful pictures on social media. reality is far behind that and every one has their own set of struggles in life.
Social media has both positive and negative sides . Sometimes we imagine the lavish lifestyle by seeing someone’s on social media but other side everything shown on screen is not right . We can’t see the struggle too . You have penned down beautifully.
Jealousy is not a sign of success and happy life. And as you said she is a successful woman but she is not happy with the life she is living. Somehow we all are going through a life where we all struggle with something. Some have money issue, some are depressed, some are far away from their family. I feel we should feel happy and blessed with what we have in our life.
Nice post dear
This is true and correct. So well written article and very nice information. this is like someone read our mind. our lives to others makes us feel small blessed , small loved . This is great your post. Thanks for this 😊
Jealousy is a very normal and instinctual feeling. Jealous people tend to compare themselves a lot with others and their jealousy arises out of their hidden insecurities
Wow wow wow! After finishing your article it was my reaction..you know , same happened many of us and even I felt same way many years before. What a fresh article and so practical dear..loved like anything..
Ayyo don’t tell me. I was devastated about how boring my life is for a month after I joined Instagram. But when I observed closer I understood that it is the rosy side of Instagram
Whoa this is the current reality. Sadly we don’t realise how deeply we are affected by this reality. Thanks for the reminder
I think it’s human nature to feel this way. The most we could do is to see it as a challenge for ourselves to be better to be able to achieve the same things we see in them. Social media has affected us more than we ever thought. Each time we scroll, we can either feel jealous or inspired. Be wise and have a positive mindset.