Real Mom Talk: Instagram vs Reality
Everyone seems to have Instagram these days. If not, Instagram it’s something else. Social media has been on the rise for years now. I, for one, love social media. I love the connections it helps me maintain with family and friends who live far away.
But have you ever been scrolling through your feed and just felt down? Have you ever found yourself comparing your life or looks to others?
It’s because social media isn’t complete reality.
With the positive aspects that social media has to offer, it has just as many negative aspects too. Instagram and social media, in general, are typically about showing the best times in your life.
All the happy moments. The smiles. The celebrations. The things you don’t want to forget. The good memories.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to share these moments with the world. After all, who wants an unflattering photo of themselves online for everyone to see?
No one wants to post the peanut butter and jelly they ate, the messy bun instead of the cute up-do, or the blinking-mid-sneezing photo of themselves.
Everyone wants to look their best and put their best foot forward.
Can you really blame anyone with all the trolling and bullying going on these days? Others aren’t always nice and it is very scary to put yourself out there in a vulnerable post.
I’m no different. I like to make sure my photos have the right angle to hide the belly flab and the lightest eye circles possible. I’m guilty of posting only the best out of the twenty-something photo options I took to my Instagram.
As a girl, in general, we all have insecurities and things we don’t like about ourselves. As a mom, we want others to know (or at least think) that we have our life together. In this day and age, it is so hard to be a “good” mom. Everyone has this idea of what being a mom should be and what it is supposed to look like. There is so much pressure to have it all together, all the time.
What we really need more of is the raw, real truth. I’ve seen more and more moms opening up about the real issues lately and I applaud them! Being open and honest takes guts! It isn’t easy, especially if you feel like it makes you look bad or that you will get criticized for not being perfect.
But let’s be real for one second…no one is perfect. NO ONE.
Those high quality staged, picture-perfect photos are just that: staged. Do we all have some perfect moments? Yes. And if you’re lucky enough to capture them on camera, then heck yes post them! Why not? But is every single moment perfect? No.
Remember that the next time you’re scrolling through your Instagram feed. Those picture-perfect people who look like they have it all together all the time? They don’t.
No one posts the ugly photos. No one posts the crying photos. No one posts the acne breakout photos. No one posts the unflattering bikini photos.
No one has it all together 100% of the time.
We all want to put our best foot forward and give off the best image of ourselves. But we are all human. We all have bad days along with the good.
Playing the Instagram “they have it better than me”, “their life is perfect”, “they always look amazing” game is so dangerous. It will beat you down and make you feel bad about what you have and who you are. Don’t let it. Don’t play.
Go ahead and post your happy moments but don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and post the tough moments too. You have no idea how powerful that can be. Just seeing someone else post about something that you always struggle with, can make such a huge impact. I know it has for me.
So I challenge you to just be yourself. Because you are enough just as you are. There is no one else like you in the world. You are one of a kind and beautiful. Life is not always perfect but it is a wonderful ride.
Be you. Be open. Be honest. Be vulnerable.
And just be real.
20 thoughts on “Real Mom Talk: Instagram vs Reality”
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This is so true! I know I’m definitely guilty of scrolling through my feed and getting really discouraged. This is great advice to keep in mind, and a much needed reality check for many of us! Thank you!
Absolutely! This subject has been near and dear to my heart lately. It’s so easy to fall into the comparison trap but we need to just remind ourselves we’re all human and all go through highs and lows in life. No one is immune to it even if they don’t post about it it’s still their reality too. I hope this helps remind you of that as well 🙂
This is such a great reminder. I’m always reminding my students about social media and the toll it takes on them, but I often overlook how it plays a role in my life as well. It’s so easy to make yourself feel guilty because everyone else is only posting the good stuff!
Yes, it so easy to fall into that trap and think the grass is always greener. When the truth is we are all human and all go through highs and lows even if we don’t post about it. I hope this post helps to remind you of that.
I absolutely love this! I even posted a link to it on my FB page!
Aw thank you so much! That means a lot to me! I hope this helps you and anyone else you shared it with 🙂
Great points! I get it! It is probably the weakest area of my social media journey. I will use what you say to better understand and utilize the benefits of Instagram.
Thank you so much! It’s so easy to get discouraged when we base our lives off of what we see from others. We just need to remember we are all human and go through ups and downs whether we post about them or not. I hope this helps with your own social media journey.
This is awesome. It’s easy to go on social media and feel bad about yourself, like you aren’t living up to society’s expectations. It can be really defeating! This is a great reminder.
It really can put you in a bad mood. You just have to remind yourself of this and that no one is perfect. We all have bad days just like we all have good ones.
Oh my gosh, this is so true! It’s one of the reasons I’ve taken so long to start an Instagram page. But I love seeing how my kids change, through what I’ve posted. Great article 🙂
It can be a damper if you don’t remind yourself everyone has bad days and no one is perfect even if they seem like it. Thank you for sharing!
Such great points! Thank you for sharing this. I think it is so important to address.
You’re welcome! I’m glad you found it helpful.
Real truth. No one is perfect . People will only post the good part of their life’s in Social media. People have to know that instead on getting depressed . Great post
Yes exactly! Reminding myself that helps keep it all in perspective.
So true.
I have to constantly remind myself that I am only seeing the “best of the best” online and they can even be faking it.
Yes, that’s such a valid point! You just have to remind yourself everyone has bad days. No one is perfect.
I’ve totally scrolled through Insta and felt overwhelmed or like I wasn’t doing enough! It’s so important to remember that social media is just a glimpse of a moment in time. No one is perfect and we don’t have it all together!
Yes, same here! It’s so true. We all have good and bad days.