I often see women putting themselves down on social media, whether it is their looks, their homes, or their lives. It breaks my heart because of the pressure social media puts in being a certain way. As someone who recovered from an eating disorder and also has been on a self-love journey to break those feelings of not being good enough or pretty enough, it is disheartening. However, I think it is high time we fight back against this narrative!
Why we shouldn’t let Social Media Define Our Self-Worth
With Social Media being part of most of our daily lives comes the idea for unachievable standards. There are so many wonderful content creators that show real-life. However, many people only show the highlights. Unattainable beauty standards bombard our feeds. It not only affects us, but I worry about the damage it does to our children.
Girls are looking at skincare routines at much younger ages. Those years that should be filled with play are being taken over by obsessing over their clothes, their aesthetic, and beauty. I am not saying that kids can’t have a beauty routine or like a certain fashion look. However, I worry about what this will do to them in the future. What they see now can leave harmful, lasting effects as they become adults. I worry how this sets an example for their self-worth as adults.
Changing the Narrative
The things I might find beautiful, others may not. When we let social media dictate that only one type is beautiful, we are telling everyone else that they are not. We are all beautiful. Each one of us is unique. Just because you do not fit into someone’s box of what beauty is doesn’t make you any less spectacular than you are.
Our homes should all reflect our style and capabilities. I would love to have a magazine worthy home. However, I have a chronic illness and am raising two autistic homeschooled children. It’s just not going to happen. Sometimes my house looks like a tornado went through it. We bought a fixer-upper. We are doing the projects as we have money, so there are a lot of things that still need done. That is okay. It is okay to have a “less than perfect” home. We all need to accept that too.
We also need to remember what our words and actions say to our children. What we say about our bodies and our lives leave impressions on them. I want my kids to be happy being themselves…quirky, funny, and fabulous human beings (because they are)!
We can change the narrative by leading by example. We lead that example by scrolling past the crap, by setting intentions, and by realizing that a lot of what we see on social media is not always attainable and/or true.
The Wrap Up
Letting social media dictate our self-worth is easy to do, especially because we are surrounded by it. However, we need to make conscious decisions to prevent it from ruining our happiness and worth. It is especially important to help our kids not to develop patterns that will affect them emotionally as they grow.
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