In my opinion, the purpose of social media is to share your life with others, but it seems that too often these days it is being used as a method to seek approval from your followers that are scrolling through their timelines. People will take the same exact picture over and over again, pulling out every flaw that could possibly be judged by whoever is double clicking and giving them the “like” that they desire.

This is a problem.

I have seen people who do that exact thing and begin to pick away at experiences they have in real life. Someone will post a picture of them with friends they haven’t seen in forever, or on an insane hiking trip with views that would make anyone speechless, and their first comment will be “if only the lighting on my face was better.”

This form of thinking is conditioning us to search for the flaws in things instead of appreciating the beauty. It makes us think that we must live our lives to fit a certain standard for those who will see the pictures we post. It strengthens a problem that we continue to have in society about beauty standards, while making us believe that in order to be successful in life we have to “wow” people with flashy, "Tumblr-like" pictures and experiences.

Many people who have problems in their lives will use social media as a way to feel like their way of living is being accepted, even if it is actually hurtful to them in real life. Getting hundreds of likes can be a form of validation for some people about the choices and decisions they make. This can be harmful to people’s way of living, especially if it concerns relationships, body image, or any type of life style choice.

However, this issue in social media doesn’t just effect the person who is posting -- it also sets an unrealistic bar for people who see these posts. Am I really supposed to take bubble baths with my hair and makeup all done for people to see? Am I really supposed to only go to Starbucks to get that photo of my cup, and once I order it am I really supposed to hold it up to a wall? Am I really eating healthy if I don’t post a picture of my plate like it was done by a chef on Chopped? Am I really in love with my boyfriend if we don’t get dressed up and have someone take pictures of us kissing? Is my body really in good shape if I’m not comfortable enough to post a picture in a sports bra at the gym?

This is not my way of saying that posting any of these things is something I look down upon; if you have a rockin’ gym bod then you should flaunt it as much as you want! I’m not one to judge anyone on what they post, but we do need to accept the fact that the standards and expectations on social media are altering the way we choose to live our lives. Getting caught up in making sure you look like a super-model every time you want to take a picture or driving out of your way to go somewhere that has a certain aesthetic appeal to it for a selfie are things that could potentially get in the way of us living our lives to the fullest.

Do not think of this article as an attack on those who do spend extra time stressing on how many likes they will get for a post. Instead, think of it as a reminder that no one’s life is perfect, no one’s life is straight out of a blog, and that being a flawed human is okay. And anyone who believes you should live your life otherwise is not someone’s opinion you should care about anyway. Life is messy, life is funny, real life is NOT picture perfect, but isn't that the best part about it? So why put in all the effort to make people believe what simply is not true? If you want to post something you love, DO IT. If you want to put up a memory that you want to share with everyone, DO IT. Stop thinking about what time of day will give you the best "likes", and forget the insane "minutes-to-likes" ratio you are so focused on, and just post the damn picture! And trust me, the most caught off guard, crazy, blurry ones are always the best to look at anyways! Just to prove it I've decided to end this article with one of my very own. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.