For quite some time, I was very infatuated with the idea of being someone that everyone wanted to be. I think that every person goes through a phase of trying to find themselves and who they want to be, and since we, as humans, are constantly progressing throughout our lives, it can be difficult for us to have a solid identity. It is also human nature to desire adoration from everyone, especially in our awkward teenage years.
So, when we compare ourselves to another girl’s profile that all of our friends are constantly scrolling through, it can lower our self-confidence and lead to an identity crisis. Social media doesn’t help this phenomenon. Girls as young as nine and ten years old are already becoming intensely involved in social media. This is around the age where girls start to become more aware of their own being, and social media is bombarding them with unrealistic and (for most) unattainable lifestyles.
I joined Instagram when I was around fourteen years old, and as I went into high school, its presence in all of our lives grew even bigger. It wasn’t just about sharing pictures for your friends and family to see. It was about developing an “aesthetic," whether this meant certain filters on all of your pictures, “quirky” (some might say cliché) captions or just posting pictures of things that set you apart from everyone else. Let me make a point of saying that I do not believe that there is anything wrong with this concept because it can lead to some really cool photos, but I do believe that it is wrong when you let your social media aesthetic control your life.
Everyone has become so obsessed with projecting themselves in a certain manner that others find appealing, that they lose themselves in the process. I have been guilty of this, myself. It’s easy to post pictures of your meal that looks cool but was actually horrible or to delete your pictures over and over again in an effort to get as many likes as possible. Becoming so caught up in this is tiring and you often don’t get the results sought after, which leads you to feel worse and worse about yourself. Then you start questioning why people don’t like you as much as someone else and think about what you can do to make yourself more appealing to others.
After going through an “enlightening” phase in my life, I realized that absolutely NONE of these things matter. Your pictures on Instagram or your tweets or your statuses are not what people are going to remember you for. People are going to remember you for the impact that you had on them and their surroundings. I have yet to hear someone say to me, “I remember that really cool picture you posted on July 1, 2014, and it changed my life!” I have, however, had people tell me that the small things I have done, whether that be showing someone kindness through my words or helping someone with a task, really made a difference to them.
Social media is fun and it’s a great way for people to socialize, but don’t let it control your life. Find happiness in reality, in learning to love your natural self and in developing your talents. Life is too short to be spent worrying about what other people think of your selfie.
