[Dangerous Habits] The More You Keep Looking at Social Media, the More Your Self-Esteem Is Eroded—The Easiest Way to Escape the Hell of Comparison

"Why can't I be like that person?"

Have you ever been struck by that feeling the moment you open your smartphone?

A woman of the same age is buying a high-end brand bag.

Posting photos of a trip abroad.

Spending time elegantly in a luxury hotel lounge.

Got a promotion.

Started a business and succeeded.

Got married.

Gave birth.

Bought a home.

Before you know it, you are feeling down by comparing it to your own life.

And what is even more painful is that this comparison never ends.

This is because on social media, one person after another who seems "happier than you" appears.

However, there is a surprising fact here.

The cause of your suffering might not be your income, your appearance, or your abilities.

The problem might lie in the "object of comparison" itself.

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・Humans cannot live without comparing

1954.

Psychologist Leon Festinger published a famous theory.

Social Comparison Theory.

The idea that when people evaluate themselves, they do not use absolute standards, but judge based on comparisons with others.

For example, an annual income of 5 million yen.

Hearing just this might feel like a sufficient income.

However, if those around you make 3 million yen, you feel relieved,

and if those around you make 10 million yen, you feel anxious.

Even if the numbers are the same, the way you feel changes.

In other words, a sense of happiness is easily swayed not by "reality," but by the "object of comparison."

Social media stimulates this mechanism to the extreme.

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・Social media is the greatest comparison device in history

Think about it for a moment.

How many people did people in the past compare themselves to?

School.

Workplace.

Neighborhood.

At most, a few dozen to a few hundred people.

But today is different.

Instagram.

X.

TikTok.

YouTube.

You are looking at the lives of tens of thousands of people every day.

And the problem starts here.

What you are seeing is not the "entirety of a life."

It is only the highlights of a life.

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・Why does looking at social media lower your self-esteem?