“The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.” — Steven Furtick
One of the sad truths of today is that technology consumes us. It’s not just about the time, but how we use that time.
Social media, for instance, provides us with both an escape and a way of searching for a certain kind of validation from others.
We want the approval and admiration of others and we edit our lives to appear better than they really are.
But what happens when we get absorbed by the glitz and glamour of other people’s lives?
You lie to yourself and pretend that you are happier than you really are, and then you see other people doing the same thing but you fail to recognize the lie.
We’re all actors, and in playing this fantasy game we fail to grasp the simple fact that real life is always just outside our windows.
Real life is about being aware of your surroundings, about other people and their needs. Real life is about real people.
Real life is about experience. About genuine experience, the one you only “stumble upon” when you leave your comfort zone.
Real life is about struggles, not selfies. Real life is about getting broken and fixing yourself, not counting the wounds in a pathetic attempt to gather as many likes as possible.
Real life is about building confidence and discipline and patience, not about feeding your ego with other people’s (often misplaced) admiration.
Real life is about staying true to yourself. Be who you want to be, because that’s what you want, not because you want him or her to like you.
Real life is about enjoying the process, not becoming obsessed with the results.
By pretending to be anything other than who we really are we lose so much. It takes a phenomenal amount of mental effort to keep a mask on… And, in the end, undoubtedly, the mask will fall off.
Real life is not about other people and clever ways of manipulating them into fulfilling our needs and desires. Real life is about going out there, into this vast world, and finding out what is it that you really want.
From yourself and from others.
Real life has no like button, no delete button, or any other kind of button, because there’s no remote control.
Don’t like something? Change it.
Thank you for reading. Love you for that!
—–Have Hope.Keep Faith—–
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ECLIPSEDWORDS BY AISHWARYA SHAH || JULY’2018 || ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ©
But you make every moment happen….
The decision in life is so delicious but delicate
We were probably better off before “social” media.
ps. if you did the art work your night sky is beautiful.
Love the opening quotation…so true.
Good afternoon dear,
I like it very much , indeed it is truth of life .
Lovely have a nice weekend.
Thank you so much
SKS
Simply
Mindblowing
Artwork
A really inspiring post. It is all too easy to get caught up in the glam of social media and become utterly spent by the effort of trying to keep up with the Jones’s. Feelings of worthlessness are now a common corruption on our help and I for one can often times find myself thinking ‘I wish I was at that stage in life’ or ‘I’m so far behind everyone else I’ll never catch up’. You are very right, the truth is that we are all individuals not copies of each other, and it is such a shame that Social media, something that should be such a good thing, can reek so much havoc in our self confidence that we can even forget who we are.
It’s common nowadays to find social media encroaching into real life so much to the extent of causing chaos. I try to be in the NOW, in the present and mindfulness helps a lot to remain centred in a circling whirl wind that’s the world of social media. Great piece. Cheers
I love this post, it’s a great take on developing an internal sense of validation. Only then can we be free from the external validation of others, which is fickle, ever-shifting and impossible to ever get right😁
I love this. Some of us are simply “guilty” of sharing what’s beautiful – like a camera’s zoom lens closing in on the flowers when there is poison ivy just feet away. I do this, but sometimes I remind people that what’s beautiful outwardly is just the tip of the iceberg – the part where it’s comfortable – and like you, I like to inspire people to notice the beauty around them (because we know there is so much that is not beautiful)! These days, we all need to breathe some fresh air. ❤
Beautifully written!
Every line of this piece is wonderful! That you for your thoughts. ❤
A good sentiment and well said. Keep up the good work (John)
Once upon a time I believed that there was something very wrong with me because my insides didn’t seem to match others’ outsides. I felt that I wasn’t a part of anyone’s world and that I was so very special and different. What I finally came to believe is that my insides will never match anyone else’s outsides. I will never be like anyone else because I am not supposed to be. Each of us is created to be a special rendition of humanity with very beautiful individual pieces and parts. Those tiny parts are so individual and so special because we are meant to share them with each other. We are meant to appreciate the beautiful colors and shapes that have been given to each and every one of us. Each one of us is an intricate tile in a mosaic and it takes all of the tiles to make this fantastic piece of artwork for all of the world to enjoy. Thank you for your beauty! Kari
I was thinking about writing a piece on how social media makes us less social. Nice work.
Great article and …a bit more & all we get “no-real-life”
Bravo! I wrote something today stressing to put down your smartphone and computer and start living life. I’m happy to meet you at I’m glad you liked the content that I wrote and also reblog on my various websites.
Is this your art work! It is beautiful!
dwight
This is beautiful!
The effect that social media has on identity and relationships is incredible. While maintaining a digital presence isn’t bad (I think all of us WordPress users agree that connecting with fellow writers and thinkers through this blogging platform is a worthwhile effort), substituting all real-life interaction with digital relationships is dangerous. Whole digital communication has much to offer, it removes some of the qualities inherent and important in physical relationships, particularly touch and unmasked self-revelations.
It’s so easy to fall into a social media hole, where likes, comments, and shares consume your day. I’ve read and heard time and time again that ours is a disconnected and lonely generation, despite living in an era of technology and globalization. I saw a comic panel recently of a box of Facebook “cereal” thay emptied thumbs-up likes into the user bowl of ego. I think that speaks strongly about the impact that social media has on our self-esteem.
It’s true what you remarked about social media compelling a misrepresentation of yourself. You often see only the highlights of someone’s life; that’s the only image of them you have, which makes you doubt the quality of your own life. I agree 100% with the Steven Furtick quote at the beginning.
Thanks for this food for thought, Aishwarya!
(I wrote a comment before, but it vanished when I clicked Post Comment! Here’s my second try.)
It’s incredible what impact social media has on our identities and relationships. Certainly, digital relationships have some value. I think that all of us WordPress users agree that connecting with writers and thinkers around the world is an amazing blessing. However, at some point social media can become dangerous.
Digital relationships lack some of the defining qualities of real-life one’s, such as touch and unmasked self-revelation. When we prioritize likes, shares, and comments, we lose our sense of self. We exchange our truth for what we want others to belieive about us – a task more easily accomplished online than offline because you can pick and choose what to share.
I 100% agree with the quote at the beginning of the post. We do ourselves a grave injustice by judging our real life against someone’s digital life. We do our ourselves an even greater injustice spending so much time building the perfect digital identity so that the world wide web approves of us while neglecting who we actually are.
I read and hear again and again how ours is a disconnected and lonely generation, despite the fact that we live in an age of technology and globalization. I saw an image recently thst captured the essence of social media’s harms: A hand poured a box of Facebook “cereal”, full of thumbs-up like buttons, into a bowl of ego.
Thanks for the food for thought, Aishwarya!
(Weirdly, it looks like both comments ended up posting! Sorry for the repeat comments and confusion.)
I think it is the way HOW we use the social media. Do we blow hearts like meaningless bubbles into the universe or are we granting courage to artists, pioneers, scientists who have an interest to make this world a better place?! Are we simply feeding our egos by accumulating likes, like you wrote… or are we creating content for others to relate and connect to, moments to learn and grow? Eventually, facebook, twitter, instagram… they are illusions. Distorted versions of reality, but perception becomes reality, so you need a certain amount of strength of will, to see through this mirror. I’ve been talking about this with my friends a lot lately. Great, thought provoking post! And your artwork again is impeccable. And this is true admiration, how did you learn to create beautiful things like that?
It’s true, you really made me think. Great post 🙂
Your article is well written. Anand Bose from Kerala
Well said Aishwarya, social media in moderation is where it’s at.
Positive and to the point – we all get to (and MUST) make our own choices, regardless of whether anyone else likes what we decide.
Great piece! I couldn’t agree more with you. As convenient as social media can be at sharing news and helping us to connect with all kinds of people, it can also skew how we see the lives of others and perceive our lives to be.