Are you bored and about to     post yet another selfie? Then   read on!

Hey teens! 

Let’s be honest. I know you’re bored. 

In fact, you’re most likely at home on your bed wishing you didn’t have to be caught up in this whole Covid-19 mess. You’re annoyed that you can’t see your friends, but also overjoyed that you’re not at school. And, your screen time has probably hit a world record. But, the one thing that’s keeping you from going over the edge is probably social media.

There are tons of social media platforms out there, spending millions of dollars, all competing for our attention. And, they sure got it. But, why are we spending all this time on social media? Well, there’s nothing else to do it seems, but sometimes, it goes deeper than that. Take a look at your feed. If you’re like me, most of your friends are posting pictures of themselves. Either in the bathroom in front of the mirror, or the bedroom, or maybe even outside with a mirror which is the recent trend. 

But, while trends come and go, the main reason a lot of youth post is the same: the need for validation. We are social creatures by nature, and we want to feel validated by others. However, the need to be validated by others could go too far. It can become a craving or even an addiction. The next thing one knows, they are posting photos of themselves several times a day or a week. They start getting hungry for positive feedback from their peers—“Yaaasss queen, you slay!,” “Cutieee,” “Model!”... and the list goes on. 

It’s also about the numbers, wanting to see the number of followers going up. More followers, means more popularity, more likes... It all feels good and sends a rush of happy endorphins across the brain.After all, who doesn’t want to be happy? We all do.

But let’s change the topic, just a bit. 

Here’s a personal question—how many times have you seen a photo, and thought, “Ugh! What a terrible photo!”, yet not wanting to hurt your friend’s feelings, you click a heart and write a positive comment?

You don’t have to answer that. 

If you’ve never done that-congrats, you are lying!How do these two ideas connect? A need to post constantly and receive feedback from others (that may not always be sincere). It means that we are seeking validation from others. For some people, it gets to the point where the validation (approval) from others, means more than their own opinion and they end up losing their sense of self.

So, before you click that button to post your next photo, ask yourself these two questions:

1) Am I posting this for validation of how attractive I look or validation of my self-worth? 

2) Is this picture going to haunt me years later?

Remember, you are special and beautiful, and you were like this from birth. You didn’t become any more or less beautiful or special because of your friends' comments, what your friends think of you or even how many friends and followers you have. The only earthly validation that really matters and that you need is your own.