Is your social media social?

Social media is a part of our lives now. It’s intertwined in everything we do and something we had better get used to. Do I think that’s a good thing? Not at all but it’s here to stay so we had better learn how to utilize it in a healthy manner.

A social media account is an advertisement for the person on the other end. Some us, myself included, use it for business purposes. I try to educate and inform in tiny doses in hopes that potential clients will trust me with their nutrition needs. I try to be completely transparent with this because being trustworthy is a value I hold. Other people might not be selling any service but they are most definitely selling an image of themselves that is most likely incomplete.

We’ve all heard the cliche about not comparing our lives to another’s highlight reel but it’s a cliche for a reason. It’s deeply rooted in truth. We see the vacations but never the work that went into paying for them (or the debt incurred). We see the bootie pics but not the hours trying to get just the right light and angle. We see the abs but not the potential disordered eating that came with them. It’s easy to feel jealous of the highlights but there’s often a dark side that goes with them. Forget walkin a mile in another’s shoes, we might not even want to put them on.

So what do we do? There are some good aspects to social media and some of us rely on it for business. And there are some positive aspects like networking and keeping up with friends and family. So that’s why I recommend culling your list. I unfollow and block with impunity. I’ve heard people say I’m creating an echo chamber but I have plenty of friends with a variety of political and personal beliefs. People I respect with educated opinions. Some random bonehead racist or misogynist on FB isn’t exactly expanding my intellectual curiosity. I feel no debt to anyone but myself. It’s just not worth my mental health to try to appease people who’s morals I find reprehensible.

Same with the random fitness influencer. They rarely are providing valuable evidence based information but more than likely adding a little rah rah to your morning with a side of bootie pic. It just invites comparison to someone who doesn’t have a regular job outside of fitness, no kids, etc. Follow people who are like you. People who face your struggles and your lifestyle.

We will most likely never look like the people we “follow”. Having some aspirational goals around getting better is fine but if you are picking an IG personality as your body goals you are gonna be disappointed. When I was a hair stylist every woman brought in a picture of Jen Anniston and said “I want to look like that”. So I would put my thumb over her face in the picture and ask them if that changed anything. You’re never gonna look like Jen Anniston no matter how good your highlights are; you’ll always look like you. And that’s a beautiful thing.

So stop trying to fit yourself into someone else’s life on social media. Build your own life now and take the time to appreciate it. I promise that reality can be so much better than living inside of a roulette wheel of images on you phone. No matter how many likes you get.