Why Gen Z Can’t Stop Comparing Themselves to Others

When we login to Instagram, we see posts and stories of people having fun at parties, traveling the world, and living their best life.

When we login to TikTok, we see young people gaining millions of followers, living in influencer houses, and doing what they love.

When we login to LinkedIn, we see people posting about their internship or job at their “dream company” and sharing academic or professional achievements.

What we don’t see on social media are the battles people are fighting, the crying or sacrifices people made to get where they are, and even the reality that most influencer careers are short-lived. No one’s life is perfect, but social media has made it feel that way.

As Gen Zers, we know that there’s more to the story than what’s put out there. But we still fall into the trap. We let it affect our self-worth and self-esteem.

How could you not? After all, you’re watching your friends, your acquaintances, and people your age seemingly achieving success and happiness at a level that you maybe haven’t.

Whether we like it or not, there will always be someone better than us, someone living a life we want to live, someone that we wish we were on our feed every day.

This concept of comparing yourself to others has been around since the beginning of time. But previous generations of young people never dealth with the constant exposure to “success” that we deal with now as social natives.

It’s not to say everyone subscribes to this feeling. Deleting social media apps can help. Seeing more people be more “honest” on social media helps.

But as a generation who doesn’t remember a time without social media, it can be hard to not compare. And it’s taken a psychological toll on us.

You might be trying to understand why Gen Z is switching jobs more than any other generation.

Why anxiety and depression among youth are at all-time highs.

Why the youngest people in our society want to be influencers instead of doctors.

It’s because seemingly quick and easy success and happiness is thrown in our face every day.

It’s hard to be patient and take your time with life when it feels like you’re seeing so many people your age being happy or successful so seemingly fast.

We know social media is a façade, but we can’t resist.

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.