We live in a world of “likes”, followers and stories — each following the highlight reels of others’ lives. Myrah Mittal, 14, from Pathways School Noida, says it is time to step away from the pursuit of perfection.
When did being ourselves stop being enough, and who decided that perfection was the price we had to pay just to feel worthy?
In a world where likes are applause and filters are armour, social media has turned into a stage, and we’re all performers, constantly auditioning for acceptance.
What began as a space to connect has morphed into a mirror one that reflects not who we are, but who we think we should be. The pressure to be perfect no longer taps gently on our shoulders. It shouts from every story, every caption, every trending sound.
Today’s teenagers in India spend an average of 7.4 hours online daily, with a large chunk of that time on social media, according to a 2023 study by the India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF). That’s nearly a full workday spent in a digital world that prizes polish over personality.
And what do we see in those hours? Flawless skin, sculpted bodies, and curated joy. Between someone else’s sunrise run and their “candid” friend group pic, I’ve caught myself comparing my life to someone else’s highlight reel, wondering if I was doing enough, living enough, being enough. Slowly, it stopped feeling like my own story and more like a race I didn’t remember signing up for. This isn’t just a comparison; it’s self-alteration. We bend, blur, and edit our identities to match what gets liked.
It’s not just about appearance; it’s about persona. We’re expected to be effortlessly witty, perfectly political, and always productive. We don’t just post our lives; we brand them. A report by the Royal Society for Public Health found that 91% of people aged 14–24 say social media creates unrealistic body image expectations. That’s not harmless scrolling that’s self-worth on the line.
We don’t even realize we’re doing it. We rehearse smiles for photos. We filter out flaws. We stage authenticity. And soon, we begin to measure value not in character, but in comments.
Perfection becomes the norm and authenticity, the rebellion.
We chase validation, one post at a time. The fear of fading into digital silence becomes real. We perform, we polish, and somewhere along the way, we forget how to simply be. The cost? Our quirks. Our chaos. Our contradictions are the very things that make us human.
So here’s the real question: Who are we when no one’s watching? That version unfiltered, unedited, unseen is the one that truly matters.
Social media is not the villain. But when it becomes the lens through which we define ourselves, it also becomes a cage. Unless we step out of that spotlight, we risk losing sight of who we were before the scroll began.
After all, the pursuit of perfection is a race with no finish line. The bravest thing we can do? Stop running and start living, unfiltered.
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