Insta-trouble

Hi, you don’t know me, I’m a simple guy web surfing. I surf a lot on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and all kinds of social media pages. I’ve been single for a while now; I don’t know if it’s because I got a super low self esteem or because my standards have become super high with the years that passes. I always wondered what it would be like to be a girl. These days mostly, with all the advertising, the stunning babes everywhere. Those models that are in chains with their diets and stuff and even if I knew that its fake, still wanting to be pretty like that. Hell, I’m a guy and I’m very sensible too about that kind of stuff. When I see a fit guy, with a perfectly groomed beard, some impeccable hair, sick tattoos and a bad ass car, a big watch and of course, the hot girl that comes alongside him.

Don’t you get tired of that pressure? That stupid voice in your head that shouts at you because you are not perfect. That feeling of guilt when you don’t seem to be as healthy or fit as one of these models. These influencers, getting paid to promote products and be cute and post stories about their numb and empty life but they make it look so real that it is fulfilled with joy and amusements and friends. I’m tired, I want to pull the plug, get away from all this but I swear I can’t. I need to compare myself, to feel like I’m doing well, or better than others. It’s the human nature.

And they know that, god knows they do. Marketing, advertising, promoting, modelling. Name it. All the industries that sells you dreams. But what about us? Middle class, with normal bodies, normal salaries, normal watches, normal hair, normal facial traits, normal houses and cars. What can I do with this information? Is it really useful to put it in my face in that particular way? I know I won’t ever afford a mansion, I know I’ll never buy an Audi S7, I know I’ll never buy a 5000$ Rolex or spend 50$ a week to have my haircut on fleek.

I’ve been obsessed lately, with all those beautiful girls, making myself believe that I’d end up with one. I passed on so many opportunities to know wonderful people, all because of their looks. What is sadder, is that some people will never realise that. At 26, I’m lucky to be smart enough to know that, at least. I got so obsessed to a point where all I would do on my cellphone was look at pictures of girls. With clothes, or not. I was literally HUNGRY for more. So unhealthy you will say, YEAH. But how many of us are still doing that, not only with girls but with all kind of things?

All I want to say is that we need to change the way we advertise, we need to change the way marketing is thought, because it ruins the thought process for some people and ruins the image they have of themselves. I remember when I was young, I had no such worries, neither did my parents. When you see that on the cover of a magazine yes it gives the ‘’perfect image’’, but imagine having that thrown in your face EVERYTIME you open your phone? How can you not be depressed? How can you not feel oppressed by those beauty standards that are unachievable or that thrive for success not being constantly in your head and pushing you to do stuff you would so regret later.

Thank you to have been to my TED talk.