How Social Media Makes Us Jealous And How to Avoid It - Healthy social media habits - Part 2

The world of social media is a strange one. One of the most common problems social media sparks are feelings of jealousy in people which can lead to insecurity and people resenting those who they envy. What is the source of these feelings? Let’s try and examine how social media actually works. Social media is a place where people display a persona which usually far out does their actual quality life. one example of this is that although a person may not have a lot of wealth, theyd post misleading photos on Facebook or Instagram of themselves on glamorous holidays and expensive restaurants. Another common one is how we usually put our most flattering photographs on social media, which obviously do not represent the way we really look most of the time. For these reasons, the image you often see of somebody online doesn’t properly reflect who they really are. In fact, it almost never does. This is the cause of much jealousy. But why? Well just think about it for a second. You may be scrolling down your Facebook feed and see that somebody you know from back in your school days in a photo surrounded by what seems to be tonnes of new friends. Before you start feeling jealous, think to yourself, maybe they’re not as popular as the photo makes them look? I call it the facebook discount. Everything is always 50%! Don’t let it make you feel bad or small, because when you compare yourself to that person, you’re just not being fair to yourself. Its just not an accurate comparison. Let me explain. The trap that people often fall into is that they will compare their own, real lives, to the fake social media personas of their friends and of strangers. So next time your feeling INstaENVY try this... compare your social media profiles to theirs or your personal life to theirs, but we don’t! And that makes us feel really terrible about ourselves, and envious of those around us. A fascinating study was conducted by psychologists at the University of Pittsburgh and published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. It suggests that “too much time on sites like Twitter, Snapchat, Reddit and Tumblr “may elicit feelings of envy and the distorted belief that others lead happier and more successful lives.” This sort of jealousy often has very clear manifestations. Have you ever seen people accuse others of bragging just because they’ve posted something about one of their achievements, like getting good grades or an exciting new job? THE IRONY IS WHILE A HEATED DEBATE RAGED ONLINE OVER WHETHER IT WAS CORRECT TO POST AND LIKE SOMEONES ADMIRABLE GRADES, BEC IT MIGHT MAKE SOMEONE FEEL BAD, WE ROUTINELY LIKE PEOPLES DOCTORED AND FILTERED PHOTOS. CAN YOU GUESS WHICH ONE WE ACTUALLY DESERVE TO PRAISED FOR? Though this isn’t necessarily bragging at all - as it is often very normal to want to share your own genuine accomplishments with others - it can be interpreted as such by us, when WE are feeling jealous or insecure. So there we have it. Social media generates feelings of envy. But what could be the solution? Nobody wants to stop spending a healthy amount of time online. Were suggesting something different. Think. When you see somebody post something of which you’re jealous, remember that everybody, ourselves included, posts things in order to show themselves in a more glamorous light than is really true. How can you try and change that? Especially when we maybe part of the problem? Well, when you post something on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or any other social media platform, think to yourself, why am I posting this? Is my post in any way offensive? Does it serve a purpose? Is it maybe a little deceptive? Does it constitute bragging? Is it sensitive to those around me? Lets clarify. There are plenty of positive reasons why one may post things online. Whether it be shedding light on something that is important to you or sharing something you are proud of with your friends. You might be posting something funny, educational or better yet, one of J-TV’s posts! The point is not that we should think social media is a negative thing, but we should... think!