Why scrolling through social media in the summer is the worst

We’re not taking any big vacations this summer. We’ll go to swim team, the library, and camp, but nothing spectacular will show up on my Instagram feed. In my right-now life, this sounds wonderful and perfect, but when I scroll through social media and see your awesome vacation or how amazing you look in your bikini, my blue eyes turn green.

Summer is hard because of what we see on social media… but why? What’s going on with us try-hard girls? Why don’t we accept that there’s a life that only we can live?

Comparison is at the heart of our social media problem.

Comparison isn’t benign — it causes some real issues in our right-now lives.

Comparison breeds shame. Shame makes me dismiss the good things in my life and the fun my family is having because what you’re doing looks more exciting. Shame tells me that my home isn’t as pretty as yours. Sometimes it manifests as jealousy, but underneath the envy, it’s shame.

Comparison breeds inadequacy. We see the Pinterest-worthy beach party and notice ours is more of a Pinterest fail. We scroll through lavish vacation photos and remember we’re at home…again. But it’s not just what we see that fuels our feeling of inadequacy, it’s how we see ourselves. The lie of Never Enough whispers in our ear, “You’re not____” and we fill in the blank.

Comparison causes us to compare and conform.

We start believing that we need to have the fancy vacations, beautiful homes, and picturesque parties that others have. We want to conform so that our lives look like the ones we see on social media.

When we compare, we quit believing that God handpicks our family, roles, finances, capacity, and personality, and we start believing that the real key to happiness is having an impressive Instagram feed.

Conformity requires us to deny the good works pre-destined for us because our plan doesn’t seem to be everyone else’s plan. To conform, we must deny who we most fully are.

So what does God say about our social media comparison?

God’s heart for us is freedom.

When we’re free, we’re able to rid ourselves of all that entangles us—the shame, inadequacy, and conformity—and run the race He’s set before us.

Freedom reminds us that there’s no need to be ashamed or to feel like we’re inadequate.

God doesn’t want us to be shamed by what others have or do because He wired each of us with unique gifts, hopes, capacity, and energy levels. He needs us where we are to do the work He’s asked ONLY US to do. You are you for God’s glory and your good.

God knows that we are Enough because Christ is in us and Christ is more than Enough. We’re inadequate on our own, but God is enough for us. As Jennie Allen writes in Nothing to Prove,

“Because Jesus is enough, we can rest.
Because Jesus is enough, we can trade fear for hope.
Because Jesus is enough, we can embrace grace.
Because Jesus is enough, we can live out our true calling.”

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Freedom gives us all the grace we need to be who we most fully are.

God doesn’t was us to conform because that means we’re denying who we are and what we’ve been put here to do. Conforming to those around us has far greater consequences than just looking like everybody else—we’re unable to glorify him in the unique way he designed for us.

We were made to be lights and image-bearers, and we can only do this when we conform to Christ, not those around us. The world needs us to be who only we can be.

Only you have your exact circle of influence.

Only you have the hopes and dreams and passions that fit perfectly with a hurting world that longs for what you have to offer.

Only you can tell your unique testimony to the gospel of grace. 

Only you can do your work… don’t let social media envy take away your light.

We aren’t taking any big vacations this year. Maybe you aren’t either. Maybe you’re doing VBS and a trip to visit your parents. Maybe you’ll go to work while the kids stay with the babysitter. Maybe it feels like nothing spectacular shows up on your Instagram feed.

And try-hard friend, that’s okay.

It’s okay because God’s crazy about you no matter how your Instagram feed looks. It’s okay because He placed you with these people, in that city, with this summer schedule for such a time as this. There’s no need to feel shame or inadequacy or to conform. He’s got your name written on His hands—isn’t that enough?

If you’re still struggling with social media, click here for some real-time strategies to help, including five healthy habits plus one question to ask yourself before you post ANYTHING.

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