It’s only recently I have realised how common this is amongst a lot of us.
I am a sucker for instagram! I must spend 2 hours minimum out of a whole day scrolling through my feed and stalking lots of beautiful people. A lot of us do it… but why? I always ask myself what is so fascinating looking at peoples pictures, a lot of people I don’t even know, wanting to know all about them, watching their Instagram stories (I swear I am not a stalker)… but why do we do it? I cannot answer, because I have no idea why I do and why 600 million users in the world use it. I guess it’s what we have grown up with and maybe because we are all just super nosey!
Social media is all we have ever known, I mean I cannot remember not having a mobile phone or even the internet. Can you imagine a whole day without your phone? If I nip to the shop, or go in my car without my iPhone, I instantly panic!
Instagram is my biggest downfall, if you ever see me on my phone I will no doubt be on IG. However there is a dark side to this social media platform. Around 3 years ago I had a major breakdown and suffered with anxiety. It took me a while to speak about it as I didn’t want the feeling to ever come back however I still do have my moments, I am human!. When you go through something like this, at the time you don’t actually know what causes you to loose control of your heartbeat, its a subcontious thought or worry that you don’t know is there. Its only now looking back it was clear to me that reality had hit me and I wasn’t where I thought I would be at 21years old. This is where social media can mentally effect you as you compare where your life is at to others the same age on instagram.
You feel as if it will never get better but I remember my mum saying “the periods between each breakdown will get longer and longer and eventually not become a daily/weekly/monthly occurrence but just every now and then because its something we will always live with and most people suffer with some sort anxiety”. I never believed her, that other people would be going through something similar to me because on Instagram people look so happy, have a perfect life, travel around the world and you just think there is no way they are going through a hard time like me. It’s only since I’ve started blogging I have realised how many people have opened up and expressed their worry/breakdowns/anxiety and it’s so refreshing.
I am one for putting on a front on my IG page to promote my passion for fashion but I think it’s so important to let people know we all go through our own issues and you are not alone. I do blame the pressure we have from social media, you only see how perfect peoples lives look, all the materialistic items they have in their pictures and think how the hell do they afford it all? That is another issue a lot of us tackle.
Another major topic at the moment is body confidence which definitely impacted my self confidence and not being happy in my own skin a few years ago when I was going through my difficult stage. This is also another negative effect we get from social media. I am planning on writing another blog post on my top tips to over come self confidence and to embrace yourself!
People always say life isn’t about that but its hard seeing it everyday and not to want a tiny bit of it… Gucci shoes, Chanel bag, Burberry jacket. I worked my arse off setting up my own business and 4 years down the line I finally managed to save to afford a Burberry jacket and Gucci trainers. I do have a few of those luxuries but with hard work and saving. But whose to say these other people just save, nobody knows what that other person does or if it is even real? We all need to learn to stop judging and comparing our lives to others. I have definitely learnt this over the past few years. My attitude now is about taking each day as it comes and enjoying every precious moment, clothes are just bits of material but memories are there forever!
The purpose of this blog post is to show that I am a normal person with a normal life who has lots of worries and breakdowns like any normal person and we all need to understand Instagram as being a way to promote ourselves like to show your passions in life – Fashion/Fitness/Lifestyle/Food not a way to make us feel low. Let’s face it, there is how may hours in a day, a couple of photos don’t show your personality. Another reason I got into blogging is because we get to express and share with you all our experiences, ideas and thoughts which I believe can help a lot of people, like it did for me. If you get chance to go through who I follow you will find some stunning Instagram feeds and amazing blogs. Below are a couple of links to awesome blog posts with a similar topic to this post and that I can totally relate to and I hope you can too. Enjoy reading!
Beth Sandland – 5 Steps to a happier life
EmTalks – Judgement And Online Hate