Reel v/s Real: Fantasy World

Social media makes it simple for people to present themselves according to a narrative that they build. So, when did we rule out the possibility that things on our media platforms can be manipulated, thus made perfect? You cannot blame the ones that do either, they are also trying to be perceived as their ideal of perfection.

The social media profiles that we often find ourselves comparing our reality to are usually the ones that make life seem adventurous, interesting; basically including everything that our lives lack. But we fail to understand how the profiles that we see are filled with ‘highlights’, and due to our constant exposure to them we begin comparing our own reality to it - so on a day where you aren’t coming close to what you view online; we call that day to be average or even bad. Therefore, we start viewing our lives as boring because it doesn’t live up to the standards set online. And we obsess over living a life in the future - that is filled with excitement and is not something that is boring but in reality nobody lives a life like that, “in the future, I will live a life like that” does not make much sense either as nobody’s lives are adventurous at all moments. It becomes a competition for us to put on a front that depicts a reality better than everyone else, and since when did existing in our own realities become a subject of comparison?

Illustration by pch.vector