Social Media… Friend or Foe?

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you’ll know that last year I had the amazing opportunity to go The Maldives…

It was literally my Island Paradise!

I swam in the ocean everyday, ate fresh fish, fruit smoothies and fresh veg for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I got to sit and bask in the sun all day every day.

I played my Ukulele, read my Tarot cards, and generally was living in my own personal Heaven.

I was staying with an old friend of mine, who truthfully, is more like a big sister than a friend.

Those were the good times… but the thing with Mental Health, and with Grief, it doesn’t go away just because you’re in paradise.

So many people have commented on how amazing the holiday looked, how lucky I am, and how I had to of had the most amazing times… and truthfully I did… yet on a couple of the days I couldn’t leave the apartment I was staying in.

Crippling anxiety made me afraid to leave the safe haven of the apartment. Despite staying on a small island, and making friends with most of the workers there. My fears and anxieties were still present.

I still struggled to get out of bed on some days… struggled to eat on others… but if you looked at my social media, you never would have guessed it.

My Dad’s Girlfriend recently shared a quote with me:

The reason we struggle with insecurity, is because we compare our behind the scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel – Steve Furtick

And it made me wonder… how many people are scrolling through my feed, thinking I have the perfect life? How many people did I indirectly, negatively impact with this? How many people felt inferior based off of a 3- week holiday?

And more to the point, why is it okay to share your highlights, be applauded for it, but the moment you share the low points, the raw moments, the real you… your seen as asking for attention?

I don’t know about you, but seeing someone happy, on holiday, living it up when I’m depressed just makes me feel worse. Seeing someone else going through/ having been through the struggle and sharing their experience, however, instantly makes me feel like I’m not alone.

Real life should be applauded, the highs and the low’s. Mental health should be talked about more, and not seen as a taboo topic.

We should be able to share our low points on Social Media without there being any stigma or judgement… to show others that they’re not alone. That there are others out there struggling, but we will get through this.

Be the inspiration to someone else… not by sharing your amazing high points… anyone can do that… but by being brave and honest enough to show the truth. Life is not all sunsets and daisys.

Life is tough. Life is hard work, but together we can enjoy it. Together we can help and support each other.

I have a love/ hate relationship with Social Media. Love the impact it can have… how you can get your message across to literally thousands of people by using a simple hashtag… yet I hate the pit we can fall into… obsessively checking our likes and followers.

I hate how losing 10 followers can put me in a bad mood… hate how superficial it makes me… yet, I know it’s more than superficiality as to why I care. Because the more followers, readers, likes and visitors you get, the more you can get your message out there. The more you can help other people…

And helping people is what I live for! So I have to play the social media game of regular postings, hashtagging and geolocating. But it’s important to remember, it’s only a game!

Peace and Love