Imagine this scenario…

Fola is a teenage girl who lived in the city of Abuja before relocating to Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria. As a result, she had to attend a new school and adapt to the environment. There were a group of girls in her new school who called themselves ‘The Trending Girls’. These girls were social media freaks! They’ll post pictures and videos of everything they did – new shoes, them at the mall, them brushing their teeth (too much?) but you get my point right?

Fola wanted to fit in with them so, she started uploading everything she did on there to get their attention. The first thing she does in the morning is log in to her social media accounts to check how many likes she had got overnight. Every time she noticed it wasn’t up to the number ‘The Trending Girls’ had, she’ll feel really bad about herself. One morning, she did her usual ‘social media accounts check ‘ (this time, it was her Instagram) and got a notification that one of ‘The Trending Girls’ had commented on her photo. She was overwhelmed and quickly clicked to see what it was …

In capitalized words was written : ‘YOU’LL NEVER MEASURE UP, LOSER! ‘ …

Indisputably, social media has a lot of perks to it. I mean, it has really helped bridge the gap of communication, has increased productivity widely and an even more recent benefit was discovered during the lockdown period. From online church services, to webinars, online courses and so on. But, you’ll agree with me that there are also disadvantages of it.

In this series, we’ll discuss some of the detriments of social media and possible solutions. I hope you are inspired.

The ‘Impress others’ Complex

A lot of people nowadays happen to do things online just to show others that ‘they still exist ‘ , ‘happen to have new stuff going on in their lives‘ or are ‘#blessed ‘. They try to gain the consent of others and believe that when they do, they’ll have all the joy to get their life going. The fact is, it’s only short-lived. Joy doesn’t come from gaining people’s consent or having material things, that’s happiness. True joy comes only from God (Rom. 14:17). Let’s look at three resultant effects of striving to impress others :

For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

2 Corinthians 10:12 KJV

• Comparison : Those words above (2 Cor. 10:12) in Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians clearly states that ‘comparing yourself with someone else is an unwise thing to do‘ . “Comparison they say, is a thief of joy” . In my opinion, comparison has a way of making you look down on yourself. In a bid to impress others, comparison creeps in, steals your joy and when that happens, you begin to feel low of yourself leading to the next resultant effect.
• Low self-esteem : Self – esteem, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary is ‘a confidence and satisfaction in oneself’. Hence, low self esteem is a lack of confidence or satisfaction of oneself. It so happens that you begin to ignore the good qualities and possibilities you have and consider someone else’s which could even lead to covetousness and jealousy (Check Gal. 5:18-21). You’re probably wondering what happened to Fola when she got to school that day. Well, she kept her head low all through the day. Now, let’s be completely honest with ourselves: majority of us are like Fola. I’ll have you know that whatever you put above or first on your priority list is an idol and you don’t want to push God to the sidelines. In Him rests the joy that you seek in people. (Check Matt. 6:32-33, Rom. 14:17)
• Wasteful spending : In the course of trying to impress others, you might be tempted to spend more on purchasing things. Things like clothes, shoes, gadgets, anything at all that would be adequate to get their attention.

Don’t try to impress people! As much as you’re tempted to, DO NOT DO IT! Frankly, it’s not going to be easy but with conscious effort coupled with God’s grace, it’s possible. God loves you the way you are and no amount of trying to please someone else – probably your friends, your neighbours, old classmates, etc. will satisfy you. You’ll just keep on doing unimaginable things. This is because you end up becoming a slave to trying to please others (2 Pet. 2:19).

Accept God’s approval now and cease from doing a lot of work to please people on social media. Say this prayer:

God, I accept your Word to me today and your approval! Please grant me grace to always remember that I am your masterpiece (Eph. 2:10) and that I don’t need anyone else’s approval.

And if you haven’t accepted Christ into your heart, say these words:

Jesus, I believe you gave yourself for me, I accept you into my heart to be Lord and Saviour over my life! Amen!

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:9 KJV

I hope you were inspired! If you were , let me know. I’ll also love to hear your views on other possible things impressing others on social media can lead to.