I always remember this quote from Louis C.K.: “Listen, the only time you should look in your neighbor’s bowl is to make sure that they have enough. You don’t look in your neighbor’s bowl to see if you have as much as them.”
While I strongly agree with this quote, I feel like I don’t live by it. College can feel like a perpetual competition among students trying to portray themselves as though they “have it all.” This pursuit of “having it all” is, at least in my opinion, motivated by the belief that it will automatically grant one happiness. If you have stellar grades, a top-notch social life, and a steamy love life to boot, then what exactly is there to be sad about it? This pursuit is completely exemplified by the current and on-going social media frenzy we live in.
Look, I’m a huge Instagram fan. In fact, I post a lot and frequently tag my friends in angsty, existentialist memes (just ask them). It’s fun and mindless, but it can also get to my head. I catch myself far too often stalking the shimmering on-screen lives of other students and feeling shitty for spending a Saturday night in or not snagging an impressive summer internship. Prior to the eruption of social media, there wasn’t this incessant access to other people’s lives. Now, it is far too easy to get wrapped up in a fantasy crafted from the lens of an iPhone camera. It feels as though an Instagram feed has become a runway for strutting your hottest looks and most exciting experiences.
That’s not to say I don’t fall victim to this endless parade of showcasing my life in its most glamorized versions. You don’t see me posting pictures of my nights cooped up in Mugar sporting a terrifying groutfit and (not even close to designer) under-eye bags. And I’m not saying that the solution is to post these not-so-hot moments… I’ll spare you my coffee-stained sweats and pre-exam nervous breakdowns. But, the reality is, these social media platforms exist, and are not going anywhere anytime soon. Because we as students are so submerged in this digital age, it is our responsibility to co-exist with these mediums without letting them take control of our lives.
Akin to Instagram, Snapchat has also gotten to my head. From what begun as a photo-sharing app (questionably designed for sexting), Snapchat has evolved into another resource for promoting self-selected moments of your life. Most of my time spent on Snapchat involves sitting on my bed in the dark, hunched over a bright screen, flipping through Snapchat stories of people I don’t really know. The other time is spent capturing scenic pictures of a bench with some trees, accompanied by an unwarranted, poetic caption that advocates just how deep I am (I’m only partially kidding).
My friends and I have this joke that many Snapchat stories are often taken with a hidden agenda. While I can’t speak for my male counterparts, I know a lot of girls, myself included, will post stories with a certain person in mind. Trying to make your ex jealous? Just post a selfie with the sexy, rugged bartender. Pissed at your friend for blowing you off? Snapchat story a video of you drunkenly singing to “Dancing On My Own” by Robyn—show that bitch you can have fun without her!
But all jokes aside, Snapchat and other social media platforms can really make me feel like I’m missing out on something bigger from college, and that’s pretty pathetic isn’t it? To measure myself against the carefully crafted online personality of another is both self-deprecating and useless. So I guess what I have to say is this: make an effort to put down your phones more and stop peeking into other people’s damn “bowls” (social media accounts).
