How many times a day would you say you view social media platforms and how long do you view them? When you actually keep track of the amount of times you open Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat and so on, you might surprise yourself.

Why do you even go on social media? Is it out of pure boredom, feeling curious as to what other people are doing, or just to see how celebrities or famous people live? After asking myself this same question I realized why I go on social media platforms, to feel inspired. If you were to log into my Instagram account, my feed mostly consists of high end fashion brands, famous models and celebrities, some youtubers, photographers and then some of my actual friends. I realized that I use social media as almost an escape from my everyday life (Instagram that is). I follow people that I would normally never see or meet in person, I basically created another world in my Instagram feed. I think we are guilty of following famous celebrities on social media . There is just something so fascinating about seeing how other people live and how their lifestyles are so different from ours.

So, how does this effect us, as everyday people viewing such extraordinary things on the internet? Like I mentioned earlier, I use it as inspiration. I love going on Instagram because I am truly inspired about what I see and hope to integrate some of those things in my everyday life. However, it is easy to become jealous seeing how other people live and what they are doing that you aren't. That's when 'fomo' (fear of missing out) comes into play. I often see people my age comparing themselves to celebrities or wishing they lived the same lavish lifestyle. This is when social media can become almost toxic to its viewer. If you're going onto social media and constantly feeling down on yourself or feeling not good enough, that's when you know you need to take a step back. Like I said before, it seems to be young people that have the most trouble with this. If a young person is constantly on social media comparing their life to a famous person's, what does this do to their self-esteem and self image? How can any teenager grow into their true selves when they are wishing they were someone else?

With all of that being said, there are some key pieces of advice about social media that I haven't mentioned yet that might help solve these problems. One day I stumbled across a youtube video called 'Social Media Is Ruining Your Life And You Don't Even Realize It' by Adelaine Morin (Adelaines Camera Roll). In the video, she explains how comparing your life to other people's lives will only make you feel down about yourself (feeling fomo or inadequate). She also points out various things about influencers and what you see on social media that maybe you don't understand or notice. But, the absolute best piece of advice I took away from that video was social media is only showcasing the highs of peoples lives. That is so important to remember. People use social media to show others the cool, extraordinary things that take place in their lives and usually keep the bad or unhappy things to themselves. After hearing that I always try to keep that in mind whenever I am on social media and you should too. You should never compare a typical day for you to an exotic vacation someone else is having that they only do once a year. Basically, once you start comparing your life to someone else's is when you should reevaluate yourself. If you are interested in learning more about the effects of social media (particularly in young people and teenagers) I would recommend watching that video or other ones addressing this topic.

The last thing I wanted to mention about social media is that you have to take the good with the bad. Like so many other things in life, social media is like a double edged sword. It can be used to showcase the happy times that take place in your life, a means of inspiration, but also to see how other people live and maybe cause you to question your lifestyle. The next time you're on a social media platform I really hope you will keep some of this advice in mind. You should always use social media for fun and enjoyment, not to make you feel inadequate living your own life.