The biggest shift caused by the rise of the internet and social media; is how it has changed the way feel about ourselves and those around us. The biggest part of this is comparison.
Comparison has been with us since the dawn of time, imagine how upset cave dwellers were 350,000 years ago when Fred Flintstone turned up with the Footmobile. Okay maybe that’s a moot point, but you get my point, people have compared themselves to others for YEARS.
The internet changed this, and only in a very small way. One of the big impacts of Social Media and access to devices for more people is the increase of visibility this offers all users. This means we have 1000s more people to see, enjoy, and then compare ourselves to. It’s not that we have become stronger comparers, instead, there are more people to compare ourselves to!
I do it.
You do it.
We all do it.
But we don’t need to!
The stimulus for this post was a divine illustration I saw on Twitter by @the_moona_lisa of a quote by @erica.cook :
“I’m not interested in competing with anyone. I hope we all make it”.
I adore this for so many reasons, but the biggest takeaway is that no one is better than anyone else - we all desire and deserve to make it! At its basic values, life is a game of survival, all the other stuff is surface-level crap. But to compare and compete with others is a waste of all our energy.
When you factor in that we’re all oppressed in certain ways by our society, capitalism, and governments - it makes no sense to be against each other - because that’s what the super-rich and powerful want! Whilst we’re distracted, they’re making and taking billions from us.
So let’s stop comparing ourselves, life is not a competition my darling. Let’s hope we all make it, and together we can take on the oppressors of our lives - and build better futures for all of us!
Thanks for joining me this week, and I hope it helped you. I will be back next week to explore listening. As always, I love you lots like jelly tots, until next time, uh buh bye.
Images shot by Ruth Pechey
Comments