The advent of social media has created a social climate previous generations never had to cope with. Psychologist Melinda Rak states that social media is a significant contributor to why millennials experience a tough time with such high levels of the stress.
It’s a well-known (but often forgotten) fact that we only post the highlights of our life on social media. This has the consequence of leaving us constantly comparing us to that high standard. 95% of people in Australia use Facebook, and people in their 20s most frequently use social media (literally, every day). So every single day, every time we’re scrolling down our Facebook and Instagram feeds, we are faced with a wave of content featuring celebrities with perfect bodies, our friends constantly travelling the world and our peers showcasing their dream jobs. So when you suddenly combine the issue of comparison with the sheer scale of social media usage, it’s no wonder that it plays such a contributing factor in making us feel inadequate. Melinda emphasises that “Being angry, sad, frustrated, anxious etc. are all normal and acceptable emotions. However social media distorts this assertion by equating positive emotions as acceptable and expected, and thus more valued.”
For anyone who is seeking advice in how to cope with this, we’ve collected two quotes that are valuable to keep in mind – we hope you take them to heart like we did.
“The reason we struggle with insecurity is that we compare our behind-the-scenes with every one else’s highlight reels.” (Steve Furtick)
“Educating people on emotional literacy and their self-talk can go a long way to building resilience and coping skills. In addition, understanding how the lens of social media used to view society is currently out of focus, and that developing skills to reframe how one’s self-worth is not dictated by a photo.” (Melinda Rak)
– Leonie
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