Confession: I hate social media in the summer. HATE it. Well, I don't really admit it to myself sometimes, but honestly, I get sick of seeing people's travel pictures and not being happy for them. I want to be there. I want to be traveling the world. I want to be the one on the beach with my nose in a book, freshly painted toenails, feet digging into the toasty hot sand. And I hate seeing pictures of people with their friends at the beach. And I hate swimsuit pictures. Why isn't my waist that tiny? Her swimsuit collection is way cuter than mine! It would take me weeks to get that tan. I have GOT to start working out more.
I'm tempted to say that there is something nasty, sinful, tempting, disgusting, tasteless...about social media. But is it social media's fault? Or is it a heart issue?
Girls, admit it. Social media fuels your insecurities. It pressures you to compare your body, your wardrobe, your friends, and your experiences with every other woman on your feed. You see someone's location and you're quick to wish away where your feet are planted right now. You see someone's new haircut and feel a little bit worse about your split ends. You see the party he's at, the friends that she has, the picture perfect view of their not-so-perfect lives.
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And yeah, you know in your head that they're not perfect. Your mind is quick to tell you that you've got it all wrong, that you shouldn't feel incompetent or jealous. But your heart still feels it— you don't have it all together like she does. Sadly, I don't have a quick solution or a sweet little quote to solve it. I struggle with it. It naturally comes with being human. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't fight it. When the comparisons and the jealousy come, which they inevitably will, I am going to remember that a flawless feed has no correlation with a perfect life.
There is no one in this world who has it all together, no matter how much it looks that way. You don't know what she is facing at home or the kinds of emotions, insecurities, and struggles that she has building up inside. You don't know what grief she's suppressing or what feelings she isn't comfortable sharing. So if you see her seemingly perfect life and the resentful thoughts start to wriggle back into your mind, remember that she is not just a picture—she is a person. She is not a jumble of high definition pixels; she's a compilation of pain, exhilaration, love, and sadness. She isn't asking for your jealousy. She's just a girl who needs to be loved and understood.
