Social Media seems to lead to more sadness and less well-being than one would think. Social Media is supposed to be a positive thing. A place where people can connect with their friends and family and keep people up to date on what is going on in their lives. Unfortunately, I think it’s doing the opposite. One study found that Facebook was linked to more people being unsatisfied with their lives due to comparing themselves and their lives to others on social media. This study was conducted in 2013. I can only imagine what information would be found if a similar study was done now, due to the increase in social media users from then to now. People compare their lives to those they follow on social media. Another study done in 2014 found that most people compare their own lives to people they see on social media as either better or worse. Both of which lead to depressive symptoms. Social media. Leading to depressive symptoms? Something is not right here.
Personally, I follow a lot of different health and lifestyle accounts. Most of which are on Instagram. I turn to a lot of this accounts daily for healthy recipes, workouts and sometimes even advice. A different aspect of the issue of credibility recently dawned on me when I was scrolling through Instagram and came across a few accounts that in my opinion did not seem genuine. Sure, the pictures were taken with a nice camera, and they seemed happy. Always traveling to different places, eating amazing food, and getting to constantly live in cute bikinis. Is this all it takes to be happy? Post after post I found myself hoping that “Someday, I’ll be able to do that and be happy too.” As if you could only be happy if you were able to travel and drink yummy smoothies in cool places for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Post after post I was becoming obsessed with these accounts I followed and the lives they lived and less content with my own life. I’d be going to work, but wishing I was traveling the world somewhere like the girls I follow on Instagram. I began to compare myself, my body, and my life to those I obsessed over through a screen.
So of course, we need credibility on accounts that we follow that have to do with health and nutrition so we can feel confident in the information we are getting, but we also need credibility in health and lifestyle accounts. The ones that we obsess over and compare to our own lives and happiness. The ones that really take a toll on our health.
It is important to be reminded that it is easy to pretend, and put up a front on social media. It’s easy to say “Do X, Y and Z and you’ll be happy and healthy”. We have to make sure that we understand that everyone is different and what makes one person content and happy may not make the next person that content and happy. We have to find what makes us happy without any comparing or wishing we lived different lives.
madinriley 