Most days, we upload posts forgetting that once something goes up on social media, millions of people can view it and judge it. We start shadowing somebody else’s social life to gain their social approval. It’s understandable because as human beings we seek approval from those around us.

And sometimes when it does not come the way we hoped it would from family and friends, we experiment with it on social media. A quick selfie against a brick wall — the pout, the side profile, the filter, the tilt-shift, the trending hashtag —and we hope we’ve fooled others into thinking we’ve got it all going great.

When scrolling through our social media feeds, it’s super easy to forget that what we see isn’t always what it seems. The perfect life on social media is a myth. And how what we see ourselves online can have a major impact our own feelings of self esteem and self worth, besides making us more lonely and isolated. In fact, check out what Selena Gomez had to say about this!

"As soon as I became the most followed person on Instagram, I sort of freaked out. It had become so consuming to me. It’s what I woke up to and went to sleep to. I was an addict, and it felt like I was seeing things I didn’t want to see, like it was putting things in my head that I didn’t want to care about. I always end up feeling like s*** when I look at Instagram. Which is why I’m kind of under the radar, ghosting it a bit.”

Check out what Ed Sheeran wrote in 2015 on Instagram before taking a year-long break from social media:

“I find myself seeing the world through a screen and not my eyes so I’m taking this opportunity of me not having to be anywhere or do anything to travel the world and see everything I missed.”

So then: is it worth it? We did a quick pro and con assessment about social media!

The Pros:

• Keep updated with the recent events, news and lives of your dear ones.
• Advertise your skills to people at no expense.
• Informative and educational as some sites are goal-oriented.

The Cons:

• Thousands of people on our friend/fan/follower list, but no real friendships.
• You cannot fake an image for too long. It might lead to negative feelings if people don’t like the real you.
• Lack of social approval may lead to negative thoughts about self.
• You get influenced by what others do and make wrong decisions about relationships 
• Life moves from hours in the playground to addictions to cell phones and other gadgets. We forget to look beyond our phone screens and lack family and real life experiences.

The truth is that the world around you, your family, friends, school, college, maybe even workplace, needs the REAL YOU to stand out. The real you that God made brilliant, bold and beautiful. If being #authentic and #keepingitreal are the latest buzzwords, then pray and ask God to show you the wonderful person you actually are.

If your very fingerprint is unique to only you, then why blend in? The pressure of fitting in is real. I get it. But living as a slave to having the perfect social media life is not what God ever intended for you.

Take that brave step today. Choose to shake it off 😉 and if you need help in this, then message us HERE!