When Facebook Makes You Sad

First of all I just want to apologise for being a bit of a useless blogger lately – apparently doing a masters in history is less glitter and fairies and more being crushed under a pile of very heavy, old books.

So, I thought I’d get back into the whole blogging thing by talking about one thing that’s been stressing me out lately, and that’s having a serious case of FOMO.  (fear of missing out) If you don’t like posts that are slightly soppy and feel good you might want to stop reading now – you’ve been warned.

Here’s the gist of what I’m feeling: When I’m chilling in the library with zero makeup on, ugly clothes (with questionable stain) and a 20,000 word dissertation due, everyone else on social media seems to be having the time of their lives. Don’t get me wrong, I really do love doing the reading and stuff for my degree, but when my timelines are full of people who look seriously hot in their selfies, seem to be at some awesome party every night and are tweeting about how they’ve booked 3 weeks in Bruges with their fiancé, I start to feel a bit like a mouldy potato (a mouldy potato that is definitely not flying off to Bruges any time soon). The whole thing is probably not helped by the fact that I’m constantly sleep deprived, overworked and drink those 30p energy  drinks that you hear scare stories about, but still.

However, while it is true that I spend way too long in the library for somebody that isn’t actually a librarian, and that other people look better in selfies than I do, what we see on social media is far from the reality.

Let’s be honest, the selfie that your FB friend just posted wasn’t taken when they just woke up, in harsh lighting, with zero makeup and no filter. It probably wasn’t the first take either, or the second… While I’m lying in bed after being awake for approximately 8 seconds looking at my phone, with 4 chins and my hair tied up in some kind of failed ponytail, thinking wow I look so hideous compared to her, I’m not really being fair to myself.  I mean, I’m no supermodel and probably would have faired better in an era where I wasn’t supposed to look magically photoshopped IRL (I mean seriously universe?!). Comparing myself to these selfies is basically like rolling up to a test after not revising and comparing my results to somebody that did loads of prep (and then probably told everyone that they totally didn’t revise either). Comparing yourself at your worst to somebody else at their best just isn’t realistic or fair.

Selfie take no. 987646587980453 ft. makeup to make me look less gross

It’s the same with people’s plans and stuff too. Do you post a status on Facebook every time you spend the day working on your essay or when you spend 8 hours straight watching Netflix? Do you take your Instagram selfies in the pyjamas that have toothpaste on them and caption it ‘I’ve just been soooooo bored today and also I don’t know where my life is going and I accidentally drank gone off milk and now I feel kinda sick’? Probably not, and neither does anyone else.

Just because people don’t post about how they feel self conscious about their nose, feel like they’re drifting away from their friends and are worried about their grades slipping, it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening, it just means they don’t want to publicise it. In all honesty there are probably loads of people out there jealous of what you have, wishing their life was as together as yours or wondering how the hell your winged eyeliner always looks so damn fierce.

So yeah, strange soppy rant hybrid over. Next time you find yourself staring at other people’s  social media accounts and feeling like you’re inferior or whatever, just remind yourself that things aren’t always what they seem. And if you still feel rubbish, DM me and I’ll send you GIFs until all you can think about are kittens and Italian food.

Does social media ever make you feel down? Think I’m just being overly sensitive? Do you hate my attempt at being serious and mushy? Leave a comment! xx