Is Being Extra Giving Us Extra Anxiety?

Are those #blessed humblebrag posts making you feel #basic and #bitterAF? Do you feel the constant need to keep up and step up your feed? Take a breather from the daily churn as we try to sort out your social media troubles.

- Karen Mae De Vera

You’re on social media, and the first thing that pops up on your feed is an engagement announcement featuring your high school batchmate beaming on-cam while holding up a huge rock which she calls a ring against a backdrop of some picturesque European landscape. You tap the Like button at first, and then hold it longer to use a heart emoticon instead. Another friend flaunts her ripped bod that's serious #gymgoals as she relaxes at the beach. You hit that thumbs up icon even though it's gonna get lost in the hundreds of previous Likes it already received. You continue scrolling past posts celebrating promotions, travels abroad, lavish weddings, haul flatlays, OOTDs... You release a long sigh and maybe exhale a bit of your soul. Why do you feel more anxious than ever?

IS THIS REAL LIFE?

For more than a decade, social media has been bridging the gap between people. For some though, the platform has become a daily reminder of what they lack in their lives, acting like the virtual nosy auntie who will nag, compare, or ask invasive questions, making you roll your eyes so hard you see your brain.

For Peyton, 24, who built her modeling portfolio on social media, the Insta-feedback from others has made her feel insecure. She says, "I was very happy with my photo, but then a friend of mine pointed out that I looked weird, and that upset me."

Olivia, 33, who's always had an eye for photos, feels challenged to come up with #aesthetic pics. She says, “I still curate, because what's the point of sharing a photo that isn't visually striking, entertaining, or at least had some thought put into it?”

Could these feelings of anxiety and pressure, common among millenniaIs, have something to do with the bombardment of real-time updates?

#GOALS