Perception vs Reality: Social Media Lies

This topic has been discussed soo many times on the internet and in the mainstream media. We all know how deceiving social media is and how it might make someone look extremely happy but doesn't show that they're actually crying themselves to sleep every night.

But this isn't what I want to talk about in this blog post. It's been talked about before and it's something we all realized by now (or I'd hope so anyway). What I do want to do, is tell you about a situation I experienced first hand. Why? I don't think we realize how often this really happens or the severity of the problem until it occurs to us that it's something that we've probably all witnessed at some point!

The Instagram account of one of my close friends consisted of travel pictures, videos from dance rehearsals and beautifully presented dishes. Every week, she'd upload a photo of herself looking flawless in a beautiful destination. This led me to the belief that she was pursuing her dreams; traveling the world and doing what she loves most - dancing. She seemed happy and I was convinced that this was HER year, but I got a huge surprise when I spoke to her after a couple of months (that's a prime example of a long-term, low-maintenance adult friendship for you).

I found out that her perfect Instagram profile was hiding a recent break-up, a long-term illness of a loved one and rejection from her dream college course.

I would've never guessed it. I was also under the impression that she was traveling a lot but this girl hasn't left the country in months and what I was seeing all this time were old throwback photos.

Social media can be extremely deceiving. Check on your friends to make sure they're okay. A perfect image online does not necessarily reflect reality. Pay attention to what your friends' post - do these posts make it seem like they have the perfect life? What's really hiding behind them?

Paula

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