The days of social media bring a tempting platform to project a life of perfection and joy, especially when a lot of your mind is concerned with chasing and achieving goals. Spending too much time in this online world, however, can cause some significant issues in life. It has become a common trend to do things simply to have a photo or to document them for social media – being present and enjoying the moment often takes a secondary priority, or is forgotten altogether. Yesterday, I saw a bus stop advertisement as I was driving by saying “Outfit Instagrammed 3 times? Time to revolve!” suggesting that you should on-sell or get rid of anything that has appeared ‘too often’ in your public profile. Surely, living life shouldn’t be dictated by what someone may have noticed once or twice before!? Studies have shown that the constant comparison of our real lives to the false and projected lives on social media are wreaking havoc on self-esteem, feelings of purpose and agency and a sense of self-worth. So, we are calling you to be real – bring your struggles and your victories to social media if you choose to document parts of your life. Don’t let your story be one-sided and false, but share your real journey. Or don’t! You could even consciously leave your social media alone on a few outings and see if it helps you to be more present and appreciative of the activities that you are doing. It is an individual preference and is fuelled by many different motivators, however, be careful that the presentation and depiction of your life on a social media platform isn’t robbing you of the opportunity to really live your life. This also goes for face to face relationships, opening up to people and sharing what you are struggling with often allows others to do the same. If you pretend that everything is perfect in life (sometimes it is!), you can limit the ability for others to be honest with you and relate with you on a more fundamental level. This isn’t to say you should always be negative – rather, sharing problems and looking for positive solutions together may be a way of building strong and supportive relationships that are much more effective in elevating your sense of connection and agency. So, today’s challenge is to be real with someone when you are tempted to falsely portray a life of perfection.
LLUMI Australia 