Living life contently, not comparatively
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. The alarm clock for an average teenager usually signifies another dreaded day of classes. So, time to check Instagram, drag yourself out of bed, throw on a polo and head out the door after sending the usual morning snap streaks of your dog.
This stands out as the 21st century norm: double taps are a part of many people’s days before their feet even hit the ground in the morning. Social media apps are on the screen before some are even fully awake, the magic of muscle memory. But, there’s nothing wrong with aimlessly scrolling through your feed to wake up a bit.
Until it’s not aimless anymore.
It has become increasingly inevitable to compare oneself to other people via social media. From how many days a week are spent hanging out with friends, to how your body looks next to that model’s, social media is a platform of comparison. Broadcasting every moment of life is simply what people do nowadays, which is totally okay if you’re posting for the memories, not the likes. But many teenagers do not understand the distinct difference between posting for yourself and posting for others. One holds tangible memory of the good ol’ days while the other exudes toxicity. Posting simply to get some digital hearts is only satisfying if there is someone to be better than, yet somehow there’s never enough likes to meet a person’s satisfaction as they seek validation.
So, how exactly can you be content in a society that wants you to think comparatively?
Well, the biggest recommendation lies in a full cleanse of social media— go all in. It could be as little as a week of no constant refreshing or swearing it off for eternity, there’s no limit! This includes the daunting tasks of ending ALL streaks (even the 800+ day ones) and deleting the apps from your phone. (Note: if you think your friend will disown you for ending the streak, sorry to say but they weren’t really your friend.)
If this personally seems too extreme of a route, for now start small by changing the form of notifications in settings. Turn off those pesky banners and only allow notifications to grace your lock screen if imperative— this way, it will be less tempting to incessantly log on as your screen lights up.
Referring back to settings (iPhone in particular), you can adjust your screen time as well. Though it sounds daunting, this means you can limit yourself to how much time you want to spend on your phone each day. There’s no more “checks one Snapchat and is somehow three hours into Buzzfeed quizzes” happening this way!
Social media can be used as a great forum, but there is a point in many people’s lives where the picture is more important than the event. Looking at people’s stories is more important than making your own. Posting happens before you ask your friend how they’ve been doing. Life is passing by and we are trapped in social media seeking validation.
So, when will you stop posting and start living?
