They say ‘Comparison is the thief of joy’ so why do we compare ourselves to others? Whether it’s comparing our bodies or milestones or achievements to others, social comparison is something that a lot of us have done before.
As humans, we make social comparisons in order to make sense of where we are in life. These social comparisons can be grouped into:
- Upward social comparisons - comparing ourselves to people we think are better than us. This might look like “I wish I looked like that!”.
- Downward social comparisons - comparing ourselves to people we think have it worse than us. This might look like “At least my marks are higher than theirs”.
- Lateral social comparisons - comparing ourselves to people we think are at the same stage as us. This might look like “We’re both doing so well!”
It is mostly upward comparisons that have been linked with making us feel worse about ourselves while downward comparison make us feel better about ourselves. However, upward social comparisons can also motivate us to improve. According to research, self-esteem plays a part in how social comparisons affect us. For example, if we have low self-esteem we tend to make more social comparisons and feel worse about ourselves afterwards.
Social media can make it even harder to manage the social comparisons we make on these platforms. Check out our World Social Media Day post for a discussion on healthier ways to use social media.
We also have a thread from earlier this year by our own @Sprouting_Flowers that shares tips on managing social comparison!
All in all, it is important to remember that it’s natural to make social comparisons and making these comparisons does not make us bad people.
So what are some things that you find helpful in managing or reducing social comparisons?
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