Facebook Leads to Competition

I used to enjoy Facebook. I would wake up every morning and immediately check the news feed on my cell phone to see what was going on in my Facebook friends lives, learn their opinions of current events, or check recent picture uploads.  Now I dread going on that website. If it wasn’t for my family insisting that I didn’t give up the social media network, I would have walked away for good. I have deactivated that account numerous times but my friends and family usually upload all of their photos there so I end up reactivating the account when they ask me to check out xyz’s new ____ photo. I know a social media network is only what the participants make it so I can’t blame the platform for the problem.

Here are just a few reasons I have come to dislike Facebook:

1. There is too much drama on Facebook! Between people arguing about differences in opinion over current events to the random cyber brawls between frenemies, the negativity in my news feed has risen to an all time high. I had to do a social media purge to remove some of the people in my friends list who constantly spew negativity. After all, I am only as good as the people I surround myself with.

2. Facebook should be called “Fakebook”. So many people use Facebook to keep up a facade about their ridiculously amazing life. Granted some people’s lives may truly be just that amazing or just want to be positive at all times. I have no problem with that at all. I have a problem when people pretend that they have it all together online but in reality their life is in shambles. Here is a prime example: Carl is broke! He goes to get a payday loan just to have some money in his pocket to pay a few bills. He decides to take a picture of all the money spread all over his coffee table. He post the pictures to Fakebook and captions the picture “My pockets are overflowing. Mr. Benjamin needed a new home 😉 ” and now all his friends thinks he’s a baller. Not only is he broke in real life but now he has to find the money to repay the loan he took out just to prove to people he may or may not know that he is something that in reality he’s not. Sometimes Facebook seems like a virtual 10 year high school class reunion. People want their friends and associates to believe they have finally “arrived” rather than be truthful enough to show people that they are still on the journey to their destiny.

Facebook leads to competition. I believe we have all been brainwashed by the childhood song whose lyrics state-“anything you can do I can do better, I can do anything better than you”. I must be transparent with you all and say I was super guilty of this! I used to see photos of families, vacations, events, etc and become envious. The competitive spirit inside of me used to take over. I would purposely set out to do things that others had already done, just to be able to say that I did it better. Thank God for growth and a mindset change. Unfortunately many people still have this mentality. If Katie becomes the owner of a large house in the suburbs then Sally gets a second job to try to get a house somewhere in the complex. Bob buys a new Mercedes and shares the photo to his wall and now Carl wants to trade in his Suburban to get a higher class Mercedes. The cycle seems never-ending!

It’s not healthy to always be in a state of competition and constantly comparing ourselves to others. It leads to low self esteem and self deprecation. I had to make a conscious effort to change my thinking about the things I saw on Facebook. Instead of focusing on competing with the next person I am learning to find contentment in the things that I have been blessed with. Now when I see someone with a big house, a nice car, great job, etc. I can sincerely congratulate them instead of feeling that my achievements aren’t as impressive. Don’t get me wrong- there are some instances where competition is healthy (i.e. a marathon for charity) but everything in life should not be treated as a contest. We shouldn’t compare ourselves to others because God has given us all a different path to take. Instead of becoming a competition driven Jack of all trades, Master of None we should focus our energy into becoming who He has called us to be. I wanted to share with you all a passage from my daily devotional:

Like most people, I struggled for years always comparing myself with others, and in the process rejecting and disapproving of the person God created me to be. After years of misery, I finally understood that God does not make mistakes. He purposely makes all of us different, and different is not bad; it is God showing His creative variety. Psalm 139 teaches us that God intricately formed each of us in our mother’s wombs with His own hand and that He wrote all of our days in His book before any of them took shape. We should accept ourselves as God’s creation and let Him help us be the unique, precious individual that He intended us to be.
Confidence begins with self-acceptance– which is made possible through a strong faith in God’s love and plan for our lives. I believe it is insulting to our Maker (God) when we compare ourselves to others and desire to be what they are. Make a decision that you will never again compare yourself to someone else. Appreciate others for what they are and enjoy the wonderful person you are.

How do you feel about Facebook? Do you believe that Facebook can evoke a spirit of competition? Share your thoughts below.

Until next post,

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