Many young people today have worries of creating the perfect Instagram post or the perfect tweet rather than focusing on other factors in their life that could be important, such as education.  They are constantly looking at stars of Instagram and YouTube fame wanting to be and look like them instead of being themselves. Focusing on others' lives has taken away from theirs.

People are relying on social media to validate their lives.  Young kids are faced with the problem of having to look a certain way and be a certain way due to social media.  They are faced with unrealistic expectations of being like everyone else rather than standing out and being unique.  Some base their day around a post for “likes.”  For example, some may wait to eat a meal just so they can have the perfect picture to post.  However, when a post isn’t getting enough “likes,” this could cause one’s self esteem to decrease, making them unhappy.  Why do we care so much about what others think of us?  When did we decide on letting posts determine what our life should be like?  Social media is setting expectations of how a certain individual should be and shows us how we “should” be living.

There are people who constantly post and check their Instagram and their Snapchats, showing what they’re doing and making others wish they could be there.  We are constantly comparing ourselves to others who are only posting the good moments.  We all share one common thing, and that is that we care how we look. If you go on Instagram and Snapchat, you see a range of different selfies, whether it’s doggie filter or #nofilter.  Due to social media we are forced to comply with the pressures of conforming to the accepted image of your gender more than ever.  This also affects who are considered to be the ideal man or woman.  For instance, everything stressed on social media creates women to want the objectified man with a chiseled six-pack and sharp jawline.  Instagram is a platform where people are constantly trying to recreate this image, and with the help of filters and Photoshop, they succeed in changing their online self but not their physical self.

There are a number of body challenges going around social media that consist of proving that someone is skinny, which can promote body shaming.  One of these challenges is the A4 waist challenge.  This consists of women holding up sheets of paper in front of their waists to show that their waists are more narrow than the paper.  This promotes unrealistic expectations for how slim a woman should be.  Another challenge is the iPhone 6 knees challenge where women are covering their knees with their smartphones.  This is another way used to prove that someone is supermodel slim.  There are many more challenges just like these and they are accepted by most to be unhealthy.

In social media we are too involved in how others live their lives instead of focusing on our own.  We are constantly comparing ourselves to these expectations.  Theodore Roosevelt said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”  Social media is deceiving and can make individuals believe in a false reality.