Social Media and Self-Worth

Stop letting other people's highlight reels make you feel inadequate. Learn how to protect your self-worth.

A few months ago, a close friend called me. He'd just turned 27 and was convinced he was failing at life.

Why?

Because he'd spent the evening scrolling through LinkedIn and Instagram, watching his former classmates announce new jobs, engagements, and apartment purchases.

"Look at this guy from high school," he said through frustration. "He just got promoted to senior developer and bought a condo downtown. And here I am, still living with roommates and trying to figure out my next career move. I feel so behind."

I listened to him list everything his friends were achieving while he felt stuck. The thing is, my friend had just finished a coding bootcamp, landed his first tech job, and was genuinely excited about his future just hours before opening those apps.

It struck me how quickly social media can turn a perfectly content person into someone who feels inadequate. In less than thirty minutes of scrolling, he went from celebrating his career change to feeling like a complete failure.

Sound…