Waking up at five in the morning. Having a ten-step skincare routine. Preparing a matcha before going to Pilates with your friends. Constantly traveling to Europe. Going shopping every week. Having impeccable nails and perfect hair. And moving into your dream apartment before turning 25. This type of content is becoming more and more frequent on social media.
What once seemed exclusive to celebrities or a small group of people with high purchasing power, is now content consumed by millions of users every day. However, this does not reflect the day-to-day experience of most social media users.
For many users, social media has gone from being spaces for sharing moments with friends to becoming showcases of success, money and aspirational lifestyles. Research suggests that this constant exposure may influence how people evaluate their own lives.
Social comparison is a psychological process by which people value their abilities, achievements or circumstances using others as a reference. Although this mechanism is part of human behavior, several studies indicate that continuous exposure to idealized versions of other people’s lives can intensify this phenomenon in digital environments.
A meta-analysis published in BMC Psychology in 2026, which analyzed research conducted between 2019 and 2025, found a consistent relationship between the problematic use of social networks and social comparison. The authors conclude that platforms may encourage users to compare their lives with those of others.
On social networks, we rarely see debts, ten-hour workdays, financial anxiety, family problems or the months when someone cannot travel. We just see the dream trip, the new apartment, the aesthetic café, the luxury bag, or the “perfect day.” In other words, we often end up comparing our everyday lives to a carefully edited selection of other people’s
best moments.
And that comparison can have consequences for our well-being.
Research published in the Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science in 2026 found that, in the sample group, a tendency to make social comparisons based on Instagram content was associated with higher levels of stress and anxiety.
The 2026 World Happiness Report also found that a significant number of social media users say they feel better when they reduce the time spent on networks. The report states that, in many cases, people continue to use social media, not necessarily because it increases their well-being, but because they feel they don’t want to be left out of the conversation.
Part of this phenomenon is also related to algorithms.
Content that generates more watch time, comments, and interactions tend to receive greater distribution within platforms. As a result, publications about luxury travel, exclusive shopping or highly aspirational lifestyles gain disproportionate visibility, creating the perception that those experiences are far more common than they really are.
Ironically, social media was born to connect people and share experiences. However, for some users these platforms can become spaces for constant comparison.
Perhaps the problem is not that there are people who live these lifestyles. Perhaps the real challenge is that algorithms can create the perception that that is the norm and that if our reality does not look like the one we see on our screens, then we are doing something wrong.
And that raises the question: If Instagram and TikTok were to disappear tomorrow, would you still be chasing the same life or would you discover that many of those dreams were never really yours?
Sources: BMC Psychology; World Happiness Report 2026;
Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science.