Fairyland Reality

If I had to define social media, I would call it a platform of fairyland reality.

My LinkedIn profile communicates a polished story of a successful entrepreneur.
My Instagram show a rosy life with very little stress of any kind.

And yes, it is true. I have achieved a lot in life, and I have had the incredible privilege of traveling the globe. But what social media does not tell very well is that I have also had my share of struggles.

As a matter of fact, if I were to make a list of all my disappointments, I might never get to the end.

We live in an age where it is incredibly easy to romanticize and idealize other people’s lives. With the amount of online sharing, curated feeds, beautiful photos, personal brands, and virtual profiles, it is almost impossible not to fall into that trap.

We see a few carefully selected moments, and the mind quietly begins to complete the story. That person must be more successful. That person must be more free. That person must be more loved, more certain, more complete.

But we are not seeing a life. We are seeing a glimpse.

So what is the solution? Close all your social media accounts? Start posting photos of your unhappy moments? Unfriend everyone you have not spoken to in years?

To me, these are not the most practical solutions. The wiser answer, I believe, lies between our ears, in how we perceive the virtual game itself.

What happens in the virtual world is, well, virtual. It may contain truth, beauty, creativity, insight, and inspiration, but it will always show glimpses of reality, never the full story.

So the next time we scroll through social media and see a well executed video by a well known expert giving fascinating insight into life, we can receive the wisdom without idealizing the messenger. We appreciate the insight without assuming their life is perfect.

The next time we see an Instagram photo of a healer, yogi, or “wellness warrior” dressed in perfect white clothes, sitting on a stone bench, performing some meditative action, we can take in the beauty while remembering that it is still only a glimpse.

A glimpse can be inspiring. A glimpse can be beautiful. But a glimpse is not the whole picture.

Here’s my point: The online world is hyped to the point of almost becoming a joke, yet we still let it shape our self worth, our desires, our sense of progress, and our assumptions.

Instead, we can get inspired by it. We can learn from it. We can even become digital zombies for a little while.

But we must remember this: the online world is merely a snapshot. A screen can hold an image, but it cannot hold the fullness of life.

Chief Editor

Tal Gur is an impact-driven creator at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 life goals around the globe. Tal's journey and recent book, The Art of Fully Living, inspired him to found Elevate Society.