Every time I went online, I’d see influencers casually flaunting their wealth by jetting off to exotic locations decked out in outfits that probably cost more than my rent. I’d watch them, full of envy, while I struggled to keep up with my bills.
At first, I tried to brush it off. “They’re just rich kids with generational wealth,” I told myself. “It’s not real or attainable for people like me. ”But over time, it stopped feeling so distant.
I realised that it wasn’t just influencers who were living a better life than me – people my age seemed to as well. They had better jobs, better clothes, and were travelling to places I could only scroll past. Heck, even their hair looked better than mine!
It felt like everyone was moving ahead while I was stuck at the same place I had been for years. Soon, the things that I used to be proud, like my work accomplishments, suddenly didn’t feel impressive anymore, and self-doubt started creeping in.
The worst part was that I knew these feelings weren’t healthy. I knew social media isn’t real, but I still felt stuck in this toxic loop of watching, comparing, and quietly falling apart inside. Every scroll reminded me of what I didn’t have and how far behind I was. No matter how hard I tried to rationalise it, I still felt jealous and angry. I even found myself quietly cursing my luck for being born “poor”.
Eventually, it got so overwhelming that I decided to quit social media cold turkey. I stayed offline for six months. The first few weeks were rough – I had to fight the constant urge to check “just one more” feed, and the FOMO was real. But after some time, it started to get easier. With out the endless comparison, I began to feel a bit better and a little more confident in myself again.
Now, I’m slowly easing back online. I still see posts that make me jealous, and I still catch myself comparing sometimes. I’m trying not to compare myself to everyone’s highlight reels…but it’s definitely still a work in progress.
This article is part of TSS Confessions, a weekly column where we delve into personal finance topics that are unscripted and genuine real accounts from people.
