We all compare ourselves to others. We do it all the time whether we’re online or in real life, and, sometimes, we come up short. The truth is that no matter how hard we try, we will always find someone who is better than us. On the other hand, if we look closely, we will find that we are better than others too.
This is a habit that is deeply ingrained in human nature to make us feel the need to compare our looks, personalities, achievements, jobs, and other material possessions with those of others. That need comes from the ego and its maddening necessity to seek approval. In this article, I’ll help you put an end to that.
Mirror, mirror, on the wall…
The challenge has always been to rise above such human tendencies, though this task is made even more difficult today with social media at everyone’s fingertips. Social media has given us an enhanced ability to measure ourselves up against others, and that’s surely not a good thing.
Social media forces us to compare ourselves to everyone else. Comparison is the thief of joy. Feeling sad today? Turn. The. Phone. Off.
— Hannah Claire, MS RD LD (@hannahclairerd) July 31, 2018
From profile pictures, to the number of friends, to phenomenal vacation photos, to major life events, people are trying to post the best versions of their lives. This makes falling into the comparison trap easier than ever before, and practically encourages this act which is detrimental to our mental health.
Are you falling into this trap, endlessly comparing yourself to others on social media? Learn how you can fight your own insecurities the next time you find yourself thinking any of the following thoughts, wishing you were somebody else living a life you can only glimpse on social media.
Other people have better pictures
If you’re on Instagram, you pretty much know that there are a lot of talented creators who post dazzling photos. Don’t be surprised as Instagram is, after all, where people showcase their best photos. If you think that your pictures are not on par with your fellow Instagrammers, or that maybe you don’t lead an exciting lifestyle that would allow you to snap awesome vacay photos; don’t get discouraged. Many of today’s most followed Instagram users started from scratch, just like you:
These are all famous influencers on Instagram now, but their beginnings were humble. They started by taking photos using their phones and worked their way up from there. This just shows you that you don’t need to be a photography guru in order to create great photos on Instagram. All you need to do is take the time to learn different techniques, delve yourself into your creative imaginations, and spend more time learning from top influencers in your niche.
That’s why you shouldn’t write off Instagram yet, even if all your friends are posting perfect photos of different exotic places and all you can capture are pictures of herbs on your kitchen windowsill and the different ways you cat yawns. Give yourself time and learn how to express yourself through photography. In time, you will surely create pictures as amazing as the one above.
Another important thing to remember is that unique photos and large followings are two things that can attract people on Instagram. Work on your photography skills, but also consider buying Instagram followers to boost your following. By doing this you will improve your stature and have better social proof, which in return can do wonders to increase the organic growth of your followers. Instagram users like following popular people who seem like an authority in their industry.
Everybody else has a fabulous life
This is a complete lie and you know it, though sometimes if you’re feeling down, life can feel this way. Perfection, in this world, does not exist. No one leads a perfect life and the perfection you see on social media is the result of people faking things in order to look happy, rich, and successful.
In a perfect world that social media tries to portray, being real & being vulnerable is hard but NEEDED.
Too many people suffer from depression, eating disorders and anxiety because they compare themselves to unrealistic profiles & pictures.
— HannahBower2 (@hanzbananzz) August 2, 2018
Social media is so fake SO don't ever compare your life to social media stars. Everybody's got their own problems going on & nobody's life is 'PERFECT'… nobody is going to share their bad days online! Remember that :D
— Ally Law (@AllyALaw) July 13, 2018
Nobody is going to post about their meltdown when their significant other forgot their anniversary. People only post about how they want to convey their life in pictures, not how it really is. That’s why you shouldn’t get drawn into this illusion that everyone else’s life is better than yours just because it appears so on Instagram. Everything may look peachy and perfect from your perspective, but remember that this is far from being true.
Other people have beautiful, popular friends
Posting photos of popular people with you in them is the online equivalent of name-dropping. Unfortunately, we’re not all Chance the Rapper hanging out with Snoop Dogg:
However, just because people post pictures with popular “influencers” doesn’t mean that they’re actually friends in real life. Online collaborations have been quite popular lately, and with the right incentive, regular users can land a collaboration with a popular Instagram influencer.
Don’t base your own self-worth on your lack of celebrity friends. Draw your self-esteem from your inner self. Though if you feel your personal confidence grows by having plenty of friends, you should consider growing your followers online.
Buy social media followers to attract more influencers wanting to work with you and your account. The more followers you have, the more likely people will be to want to work with you as they see an opportunity for a mutually beneficial partnership. That’s the effect of social proof.
Their feeds look better
The nature of your content is important in creating an impressive Instagram feed, but it’s not all you should focus on. For instance:
- Color coordination
- Theme
- Filters
- Layout
They all contribute to composing an easy-on-the-eyes Instagram feed. This example is what a neatly crafted feed looks like.
Learn how to transform your feed from dull and boring, to engaging and dazzling. You can rearrange your photos or archive some of them which don’t match the pattern of your content. Either way, you want your followers to have that “WOW” moment when they check out your feed.
Other people get more engagements
When you compare your likes to others it can be a bit discouraging. However, the engagement that you receive doesn’t necessarily have to depend on the quality of the content. What it does depend on, most of the time, is the social proof.
A large following can help you gain more likes, comments, and shares. Having a big following will help you expand your reach and increase engagement numbers on your posts. Just be careful as a big following doesn’t automatically bring positive engagements. You need to work hard and use different techniques to boost your engagements, such as:
- Effective CTAs
- Giveaways
- Takeovers
- Contests
Instagram celebrities don’t get thousands of likes on their posts right from the start. They worked on building their following, tried new techniques for boosting their engagement, and improved the quality of their content as they grew. If you’re unsatisfied with the levels of engagement you’re receiving on your posts right now, there is a lot you can do to change that.
Always love yourself!
Someone will always look better, have more friends, take more attractive photos, or have more comments and likes on their posts. That ‘someone’ is called Beyonce. ;-)
That’s why you need to stop comparing yourself to others because you’re bound to often find yourself holding the short end of the stick in some regard or another.
https://twitter.com/SammyBillones/status/1024009554433064960
Focus on your own gifts and on the positive things you can do to improve your social media presence. Keep in mind that real life is not the same as life portrayed on social media. Work on having better online relationships, but don’t forget your real-life friends. Most of all, love yourself! If you don’t, it will be much harder for everyone else to.