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Okay okay, so I know I’m not the only one who’s guilty of this… do you ever find yourself late at night after getting sucked into a social media scrolling marathon feeling down in the dumps? You see these perfectly filtered lives and think, ‘why does my life not look like that?’ We’ve all done it - and yes I mean ALL of us. Welcome to the age of comparison fatigue.
Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest; the comparison fatigue we experience as we spend a lot of our waking hours online can seem endless. Not only do we compare ourselves with the glamorous lives of the rich and famous, we now compare ourselves with family, colleagues, and friends too.
Most of us create our online personas to reflect the best bits of our lives, leaving out the bumps and hiccups we experience day to day. A lot of this stems from our excessive social media usage, but the reality is it goes a lot deeper than that. We compare superficial things like what cars people drive and what designer labels people are wearing, but we also compare achievements and goals and set these unrealistic standards as a benchmark for success.
Comparison fatigue can be embarrassing to talk about. No one wants to admit that they feel crap because of what they see online, that they feel as if they don’t measure up, they’re not good enough. Sometimes our inner keyboard warriors are unleashed, and our raging inner monologues come out in the form of a sarcastic comment or Tweet. This doesn’t solve the problem, it just makes us look petty and jealous. Not cool, not cool.
As hard as it may seem, and this solution may appear pretty obvious, one way we can try and undo the toxicity of comparison culture is to unplug - even if it's just for a little bit. Don’t pick up your phone as soon as you wake up, don’t use every opportunity throughout the day to check how many likes you’ve got on your latest post. It may help to know you’re not the only one going through this, I'm as guilty as you are at getting bogged down by the comparison game. The question is, what am I going to do about it?
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Twitter to see more of what I’m up to, and I’ll see you same time same place next week!
Catch you soon,
J’Nae
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING:
- Hello Mum by Bernardine Evaristo is a short read, I think I finished it in an hour or two. It's a gripping short story about gang life in London, teenage dynamics, and what the price of wanting better for yourself can really cost.
WHAT I’VE BEEN WATCHING:
- The Queen's Gambit is Netflix gold. I love everything about this show; from the way we follow the orphaned main character as she transitions from a gawky looking kid to a flourishing teenager competing in a male dominated world, to the setting, the costumes, and the storyline.
WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO:
- I circle back to listening to Whoa by Snow Aalegra on repeat because this woman is a gem. I find her lyrics and voice refreshing at a time where everything seems so saturated and lyrics are always click-baity.
WHAT’S CAUGHT MY EYE:
- I love this post from Upworthy, I think we can learn a lot from the way we deal out punishment as a form of penalty and sign that you’ve done wrong. Wouldn’t it be better if we all learnt a little something too?
ON MY BLOG:
- My blog's homepage has had a refresh, what do you think? I’ve not officially relaunched it yet, but I’ve spent a lot of time and effort investing in it recently so I’d love to hear your thoughts on its design and aesthetic.
Totally agree and it's a bit reason why I'm on a digital minimalism journey at the moment 🌿