Social media. This is a relatively new medium that we all know can be used for good, as well as evil. As millennials at least, we have heard since were in elementary school about the problems behind cyber bullying, and we were encouraged to not say anything negative about others on social media; we were prepared to be treated negatively by others on the internet. However, what we were not prepared for was the damage that we can do to ourselves through media.

In a world guided upon how many likes, comments, shares, and heart eye emojis we receive on our social media content, it is all too easy to lose sight of our actual value vs. our "fame value." It is scary how easy it is to fall into the trap of striving for cyber popularity, and it is even scarier to face how easy it is to be in a state of constant comparison. We could be completely confident and content one minute and then with the quick scroll of a thumb be questioning our self-worth. It's that easy. We see within seconds how many likes someone else got on a photo, or how many more followers they have and our mind automatically starts drawing not only comparisons, but negative thoughts about ourselves such as, "I'm not pretty enough" or "I'm not smart enough" or "athletic enough." We attempt to rationalize the ratios that we seem, which tends to do more harm than good. This is a two way streak. Maybe you're the person on the other side of the coin, seeing yourself be "better" than others, and you start to automatically think less of them. On either side, these comparisons make us see ourselves and each other not as individual people, with personalities and passions, but simply just as a number of thumbs up likes on a page.

Comparison is meant to put on a scale two similar things to see which one comes out as preferred for the situation. This is how we compare ourselves to others: always wanting to be preferred. I have a news flash for you-- we as humans were each designed by a divine being in His image, who has made each of us so vastly different that it is impossible and irrational to be comparing ourselves. If we were meant to compare ourselves to each other, we would all look the same, think the same, and act the same so that there would be a base scale to judge by. This base scale is not existent because we are all created individually, for an individual purpose, which is different from anyone else's. How unfortunate would it be if we were all the same? The good news is that we are not all the same, and that there is no one out there designed like you. You are a unique puzzle piece, different from all of the others, but necessary for the bigger picture. The world cannot be complete without you being exactly the way you are!

As a 19 year old Instagraming, Facebooking, tweeting girl living in 2017, I too find it hard to not make these comparisons of myself to others, and, to be honest, I do not know how we can completely eliminate this need to be the best. I do believe, though, that the best start is to recognize the amount of value that we place our ourselves based on social media, and if it is an unhealthy amount (as it is for most of us), then strive to change it. Start seeing yourself as unique and important, because you are! Start seeing each other as unique and important, because they are! Start remembering that there is value outside of the World Wide Web that the world deserves to see; and only you can bring it.

"Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord." Jeremiah 9:23-24

"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7