Summary

The author discusses their personal struggle with feelings of inadequacy and depression stemming from comparing their own life to the highlight reels presented by peers on social media, and the eventual realization that these platforms do not reflect the full reality of others' lives, which helped them overcome negative emotions.

Abstract

The author shares their journey of coping with the negative impact of social media on their mental health during their school years. Initially content with solitary activities, they began to feel inadequate after viewing peers' posts on Facebook and Instagram, which depicted seemingly exciting and fulfilling lives. This led to periods of depression as they contrasted their own "mundane" existence with the vibrant social lives of their classmates. However, as the author matured, they recognized that social media presents a curated and often misleading portrayal of one's life, focusing only on the positive and extraordinary moments. This insight helped them to appreciate that their own life was not as lacking as it seemed when compared to the selective highlights shared by others online.

Opinions

Social media can contribute to feelings of depression and inadequacy by presenting a skewed view of others' lives.
The author initially preferred solitude and intellectual pursuits over socializing with peers who engaged in partying and substance use.
The realization that social media posts are a selective and often idealized representation of reality was crucial in overcoming envy and negative self-comparison.
The author emphasizes that people tend to share only the positive aspects of their lives on social media, omitting struggles such as financial difficulties or unhealthy behaviors.
Understanding the deceptive nature of social media led to a more content and realistic self-assessment for the author.

How Social Media Affected my Happiness

And what I learned to overcome my depression

During my school years, I had no real friends. Mostly, I was acquainted with nerds and “Social rejects,” as a result of refusing to associate with the “cool” guys.

Not that I had much against them, but voluntary social suicide was more appealing to me than hanging out with them, strictly because my interests did not match theirs.

While they did drugs, partying and excessive drinking, I would usually be alone by myself. I indulged in quite introverted activities, such as reading, writing, or getting lost in my own music.

Although I was very much at peace with myself and enjoyed my own company, looking at Social Media caused me to feel like I was missing out on life.

I have accounts on Facebook and Instagram. But I came to realize that social media has contributed to lowering my levels of happiness.

When my “cool” classmates posted new pictures and they showed up in my feed, waves of depression hit me from time to time.

Why?

Well, they would post pictures of themselves at parties and festivals and it would look like they were having the time of their lives. From the photos, I figured they were leading a life that was so much more exciting than mine.

Even though I had some fun in my own life, it was mostly mundane during my school years. Sure the occasional exciting thing would happen, like the school psychopath throwing knives at me (a story for another time maybe) but it was mostly very dull.

So dull in fact, that I would sometimes resort to mindlessly scrolling through my Facebook and Instagram feed. This was when my mental wellbeing started to take a turn for the worst.

I would see these pictures of my classmates at parties and festivals, having a hell of a good time, and that would cause me to reflect on my own underwhelming existence.

I ended up comparing my life to my cool classmates and concluded that mine is not worth living in contrast with theirs. I mean, mine was so depressing and miserable and theirs was so jam-packed with excitement, right?

Well, as I started to wise up I discovered that to be false.

Eventually, I realized that on Social Media, you only see a tiny, tiny portion of a person's life. Not only do you see a minuscule part of a persons life, but they actively choose what they want people to see.

And the truth is, people only want you to see the interesting stuff.

Do you ever see someone on social media posting about how they are behind on the bills, going broke, and developing a severely unhealthy relationship with alcohol? Not really.

But that same person who is behind on the bills with a drinking problem may willingly post pictures of them going to a party, and act as if they live like a celebrity.

Chances are they blew a ton of money commuting to that party and getting drunk wasn’t cheap. Possibly they woke up with a seriously bad hangover and started throwing up in the toilet the next morning, feeling regret and wishing they had saved their money.

But you get the point. Those aspects of a person’s life won’t be represented on social media.

Pictures on Social Media represent the highlight reel of a person’s life, and it makes little sense to compare one’s entire life to another guy or girls highlight reel.

So when I realized this I became much more content with myself, knowing that social media did not accurately represent my classmate's lives that I was so envious of.

If anything, Social Media can be extremely deceptive. And understanding that social media is often used to create a false image of someone caused my jealousy, sadness, and anger to diminish.