It’s easy to get lost scrolling through pictures on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Time flies by and after a half-hour you realize that your mood has changed, and why… because you feel like you don’t measure up to the people you see in pictures? I know I am not the only one that has experienced this.
We all have those friends aka “ Facebook friends ” or people we “ follow ” on instagram and Pinterest that we think are so pretty and have it all. From the albums they post with their groups of friends to #filterfree images of food they may or may not have eaten, and Pinterest boards of bikini bodies, workout regimes and sun kissed bodies titled: My Goal, they are perfect in our minds. So, after all of this wasted time spent examining others lives through social media, you find yourself thinking of exactly all the ways you fall short compared to these so called “perfect friends.” Yet, you look at these images over and over again.
I know at least I then find myself wondering what other people think when they scroll through my pictures. Do people think I am pretty? Do people realize that I struggle with body image and eating? Do I give it away? Is it obvious that I don’t like posting pictures of my body because I don’t feel comfortable with it?
I then make myself step back. It’s important to realize that a picture isn’t a person’s whole story. While social platforms that rely on images are a great way to keep in touch with people and see what they are up to and interested in, those that truly love and care about you take the time to hear about those experiences first hand, and not through a screen, and those are the encounters that are more valuable and self fulfilling.
Perry