Social media these days often gives us a completely false picture of life, of how we should be, and of all the things we’re supposed to have.
You need to have a beautiful, bright home with minimalist yet cozy decor that reflects who you are, while still looking stylish and not too mainstream.
Everything must always be tidy and clean. A closet filled exclusively with designer clothes—and, of course, don’t forget the designer bags costing between €2,000 and €5,000.
Skincare products from Dior, Chanel, La Mer, etc. Always be happy, positive, and calm. Oh, and don’t forget to do something for your body every day, cook and eat healthy. But please don’t be lazy—make sure to also have a full-time job and take care of the kids.
Who's supposed to manage all that—and be able to afford it in the first place?!
My husband and I both work—he works full-time, and I work part-time and take care of our daughter. In the evenings, we often don’t even have enough energy to cook a decent meal, let alone tidy everything up and have a house that looks like the ones in all those Pinterest and Instagram posts.
As an office clerk, I'm very happy that I have the option to work from home, which gives me more time for housework, my child, myself, and my partner.
However, there are many who do not have this option and are facing even greater difficulties.
Don't let social media confuse you or bring you down! A lot of it isn't realistic or real!
Often, the perfect body is connected to the fact that these people make a living from it and work out every day.
Perfect skin is often the result not only of the products they use, but also of visits to dermatologists and facial treatments. And if there are bad days when the skin doesn't look perfect, it can be perfected and retouched.
The makeup looks really nice in the photos, but does it look just as good in real life?
Many of these products, including clothing and more, are often not purchased but sent by companies, since the “influencers” are supposed to showcase and sell these items to us.
I, too, was often and for a long time confused by this illusion, until I had a rough awakening. You don't need any of these things, and they don't make you any happier if you were already unhappy to begin with.
It took me years to change my mindset and realize that those shouldn't be role models for me, but rather sources of inspiration.
Instead of trying to keep up with all of that, I try to make my life simpler and happier and live in a way that leaves me feeling good at the end of the day—so I don't feel like a failure because I don't have any of the things I see on social media.
I regularly clean up my social media feeds. Whenever I see a post that brings me down or triggers negative feelings, I look at the account’s most recent posts. If the older posts evoke a similar feeling, I unfollow the account.
That's why I follow accounts that motivate and inspire me. The content on these accounts often shows the realistic and natural everyday life of an ordinary, imperfect person.
It takes the pressure and the expectations you place on yourself to be perfect and have everything.
The most important thing, though, is that we simply learn that nothing and no one is perfect, and that you only ever see what you’re shown.
In a few videos by a makeup artist from Paris, she says and shows that she was emotional and had some bad days, but this was never explained or discussed further. And that's fine, she doesn't have to.
A fitness content creator from Seattle on Instagram often shares her weight fluctuations and writes about how she felt and what motivates and drives her.
That makes them ordinary people with problems and emotions.
A skincare content creator from Canada repeatedly says in her videos that all you need is a facial cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen, and that everything else is simply optional. Furthermore, she doesn’t demonize any ingredients; instead, she points out that certain ingredients can cause skin irritation for some people. When I watch her videos, I don’t immediately think of a sales pitch, but rather of education and a better understanding of the ingredients.
For me, social media has evolved from a combination of addiction, compulsion, and pressure—coupled with negative feelings and inferiority complexes—into a source of motivation, inspiration, and a channel for learning.
Social media is always just what we make of it.
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