There’s a purpose behind sharing these images. Not only are they colourful, motivating and uplifting, but they stand out to me because of their sense of adventure, and their zest for life.
These are not images I have seen in my Instagram feed, but they are very similar. It would have been wrong for me to directly take photos from someone else’s feed. Instead, I’m using these to represent the type of content I saw in the feed of one person I follow.
It belongs to someone I used to work with. It was a ‘follow-on Instagram type of relationship’. The sort that develops when we leave a job and swap Instagram handles ‘to keep in touch’.
It makes leaving feel a little easier as we’ll know we’ll be following each other lives virtually, so it doesn’t feel like a real goodbye, even though it is.
Of course, without seeing these people in person, the only glimpse we get into their lives is what they choose to share online.
It’s been said many times before that social media is not a true reflection of real life. And that comparing ourselves to the lives we think other people have, is unhelpful and potentially damaging to our self-esteem, body image and overall mental health.
But when it’s someone who know, it’s easy to forget this. You know they like travel, parties, festivals, interior design and the London life, so it is no surprise to see that type of content regularly appearing on their feed.
I’ll admit to feeling a little envious. I envied the travel, the sense of freedom, the happy smiles and relaxing café lunches. The content also made me wish I had my own home to decorate, and the money to be able to do so.
But, of course, I was happy for the life she had developed. She had worked hard for it, climbed the career ladder and achieved so much, despite only being in her twenties.
It was only when a post was shared celebrating that she had been successfully treated for breast cancer that reality hit. I had absolutely no idea. None of her content showed this darker side of her life, her year-long struggle, and a nightmare I can only imagine.
There were no hospital beds. No evidence of the rounds of chemotherapy she had been through. She did not show her wig fittings or explain why she suddenly had short hair.
There was none of the heavy content you see from those who do choose to share their cancer journey. It was kept hidden from the world of social media, as is exactly her right.
It was an incredibly powerful reminder of what social media often does not show. The gritty, messy, chaotic, and often painful reality of life and of being human.
Lives that appear perfect, rarely are. Someone can be struggling behind the scenes, and we have absolutely no idea. We’re comparing ourselves to a false reality and envying people who are struggling more than we know.
Being reminded of that is no bad thing.
