Why do we let social media control us?

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Social media is a blessing and a curse. With its good comes it bad. While it provides us with things like keeping up with friends, finding places to travel, getting inspiration, etc. I find that most of these things are just excuses for us to justify it. I mean not all social media is negative. Sometimes it really can be used for good, like discovering hidden talents and sharing the good and important things in our lives. But other times it is a place where we can feel very negative about ourselves, very easily. It is most always a highlight reel. We share the moments of bliss. Not the ones where we are hurting. Which isn’t a bad thing because privacy is good, but from the outside when we see these perfect pictures we instantly wonder what we’re doing wrong. Why does my stomach not look like that, I want her hair, her outfits are so much cuter than mine, and list goes on. It’s an instant comparison and so often unconscious effort. It’s a picture after picture highlight reel comparison that drains the confidence from us- sometimes without us even noticing.

Friends, why do we let these pictures matter so much to us? The other day I was thinking about Instagram pictures and I suddenly wondered why it mattered so much to me. Why did I care so much about what picture I was going to post? Why did I want more likes and more comments? It’s a never ending unsatisfying battle with honestly no point. Why do we let social media control us? We want the perfect picture, with the best lighting, angels, and so on. We can sometimes get so caught up in what our pictures are going to look like that we forget to live in the moment. Recently I was on social media and an event I was not a part of kept popping up all over, and it was drastically impacting my mood. Instead of enjoying where I was, I was upset about where I wasn’t. SO finally, I just deleted it. For one weekend, I was social media free and being honest it was so good. I’ve always seen people say they did this, but could never bring myself to do it. I think it’s nice to remind ourselves to stop living through others and to live where we are. It made me remember that pictures are not always and mostly never the full story and that comparison is most definitely the thief of joy.

Remember when we were little and we just hung out with people because it was fun. We just lived in the moment- good or bad. Telling people where we were just wasn’t a big concern. I miss that. I miss just living instead of comparing. I mean I’m sure little Annie was worried about if her friend’s shirt had more glitter than her, but in general she was pretty confident in herself. We need to stop letting Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, VSCO, or whatever you use control the way we feel about ourselves. These pictures we see, they are moments, and maybe good ones, but its only part of the story, not the whole thing. Their life is not better than yours because they traveled to 4 countries and 3 island destinations over the summer. Your life is not better than theirs because you got 500 likes on your picture.

So friends, I challenge you to stop letting social media control how you feel about yourself. You are perfectly and wonderfully made in the eyes of a beautiful creator. I struggle with this on the daily. Seeing pictures of a place I wish I was hurts a lot, but when I step back and remember all the good in my life, I am able to realize that maybe Instagram isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Our real lives just simply do not fit into tiny squares. They are much bigger and more important than that. Everyone hurts and has their own set of problems. We aren’t perfect and that is ok. We mess up and make mistakes and that is ok too. When you watch a sports highlight reel, you don’t see the whole game – just the noteworthy parts. And that’s social media- the notable moments. So, if you can remember this and not let it control you, you will see such a change in your view of social media.

So post the good moments if they are true and real and important to you and you feel like you truly have something important to share. But don’t post for the likes, comments, and the desire to feel better about yourself through social media. The next time you post, I ask you to ask yourself if posting this will hurt someone. And if you know it will, is it really worth posting? The next time you are scrolling through Instagram or Facebook and you really want to compare yourself, or your life to someone else, please remember that one picture isn’t someone’s whole life. Life and social media are simply more fun when we stop comparing and craving likes and simply love and be kind.

It’s something I am still working on in my own life but something I am continually reminding myself of. You are worth more than any amount of likes in the world. Friends, don’t find your worth on social media. Find it in your family, friends, joys, and your creator. We will all still have times where comparison gets the best of us and when we post square pictures that simply make our lives look like something they are not. But if we know that there is truly so much more to life than social media, it’s like a big weight being lifted off your shoulders. You are worthy and loved friends. So, live in the moment, take long Sunday drives, eat the ice cream, take in the tiny moments, and find joy in a life that is simply yours. Pray more, compare less, and find joys in the goodness of life. Post the good and important, and things that make you happy, but remember to be real and to not find worth in it. Life is more fun in real time and not on a screen. And I think that if we truly know these things and live by them, the comparison that comes from social media doesn’t stand a chance against the truth we know in our hearts.

All the love, Annie