In the past few years, and especially in the last one in which we were hit by a global pandemic, we have moved most of our lives to online platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok… Simply, for many years we have led two lives, the offline and the online, and now when this real one has been taken away from us in some way – the virtual one has become more or less everything we have.
Of course, this is not so fatal and we do not want to be opponents of technology, i.e. those who complain about Instagram but actually spend days on it at the same time, because the truth is that we will not move to the mountains and live only in nature, with meditation, and without technology. Nevertheless, what is true and what we would discuss in this text is the fact that leading an online life (not only on social media but also by gambling at casino websites – especially those that offer no deposit bonuses and are listed by the link, seeking relationships online, etc.) really affects how we behave in reality and here are the ways this is most visible.
You Create Moments Just Because They Are Instagrammable
At times, you might not be so much fun or sociable, or you are not in the best of moods but there is an opportunity to take a good photo or video and you put on a ‘mask’ of instagrammability. This can sometimes be positive and improve your mood but sometimes it can also make it worse because you will feel the difference between how you really feel and how you present yourself on Instagram.
So, life is not Instagram and if you ever see people on this social network leading great lives and laughing while holding a glass of wine in their hands, you should know that it may have been staged in the same way that you once faked your mood.
If It Wasn’t on the Story, It Didn’t Happen
You don’t have to share every detail of your life on Instagram. Clearly, you want the guy/girl you like to see where you are, what you do, how you look really good that day… but trust us, you notice it all more than he/she or anyone else who will go through the stories on Instagram with a little or no attention.
If you want someone to see you, invite them to actually see you and experience tangible memories with them that they will remember later. This is because what we remember is what we experience and if you don’t share something in a story, it doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen. Learn to be present in the present a bit more and not look at your life just through the smartphone screen.
You Go to Strictly Places Where Beautiful Photos Will Be Taken
Although it is nice to spend time in beautiful places, you don’t always have to go only to those places that practically ‘scream’ Instagram with their interior design. Sometimes it is nice to spend the day in a small apartment rented by your best friend, which is not instagrammable but full of love and good energy. There will be opportunities to photograph other things, don’t worry.
Aesthetics are important and an integral part of our lives but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you don’t have to move only through monotonous beautiful places, which all look alike.
You’re Used to Photos of Yourself With a Filter
Yes, a filter on a story comes in handy when you have not slept well and when you came to work or went to a night out without a shred of makeup (this, of course, applies to women) but getting used to the filter makes you more insecure in situations where it does not exist.
You actually lose confidence and practically start avoiding the plain camera photos, getting used to your face in an ‘edition’ that does not really exist.
Yes, the filter is sometimes okay, but don’t let it become #newnormal to you because it just isn’t.
You’re in a Constant Panic That You’ll Be Caught in a Bad Appearance
This item follows the previous one. Fearing that someone will catch you in an unretouched appearance, you are constantly on the verge of anxiety, you worry about how you look, and you can never relax.
From how you are dressed, to how you look physically, through your hair and makeup – everything burdens you and you stop really enjoying nurturing yourself and forgetting about your sincere and natural energy.
Like Food, Drink, Sex…
Why is Instagram but also other social media so fascinating to people? What happens in our brain when we use these platforms?
We are social beings. Even in the Stone Age, it was easier to survive in a group. A brain scan showed which parts of the brain are active when we put something on social networks, which parts are active when we like, and which when something we posted gets likes, discovered neurologists who studied users of social networks with MRI. Each of these online actions elicits a reaction in the brain’s reward center, the so-called ventral striatum. That part of the brain is otherwise active when it comes to eating, drinking, sex, and money. Or when it comes to drug use.
It is easy to activate this reward center on social networks. During 24 hours, a person can connect with hundreds or thousands of people without even having to get up from bed. The word addiction may be too strong to describe this behavior, however, scientific studies and cases showed that people slept worse, had worse grades, or even lost their jobs because they could not separate themselves from the online world of social networks long enough.
