Everyone is comparing lives on social media and wants the perfect

Hear, O children of the present age, the voice of Emily Atack, who lifts the veil from our modern struggle: “Everyone is comparing lives on social media and wants the perfect body, perfect image, perfect outfit, perfect life—we’re striving for this perfection, and it’s so unhealthy because there’s no such thing as perfection.” In these words lies both warning and wisdom. For she has seen what many refuse to see—that the glittering screens of our time do not always reveal truth, but often illusions, shadows cast to deceive the heart.

The ancients warned against idolatry, the worship of false gods fashioned by human hands. In our day, the idols are not of stone or gold but of images, appearances, and comparisons. We bow before the altar of perfection, measuring our worth against illusions crafted by others. Yet just as the old idols could not breathe nor speak, so too these modern gods of perfection are empty, lifeless, and cruel. They promise joy, but deliver envy; they promise beauty, but sow despair.

History offers us many mirrors. Recall the tale of Narcissus, the youth who gazed so long into his own reflection that he withered away, consumed by vanity. The myth speaks anew in our time, for many are entranced by their digital reflection, shaping it endlessly yet never satisfied. The more they pursue perfection, the more it escapes them, until they, too, risk fading into discontent. Emily Atack’s words strike like a bell in the darkness, calling us back from such folly: there is no such thing as perfection.

But let us not think the answer is despair. For though perfection is an illusion, authenticity is real. To live truthfully, to cherish our scars, our imperfections, our laughter and our tears—that is a richer treasure than any polished image. Consider the example of Winston Churchill, whose speeches bore the weight of his lisp and whose body did not match the heroic ideal, yet who carried a nation through its darkest hour with words that were not perfect, but profoundly human. It was his imperfection that made him relatable, his authenticity that made him powerful.

Emily’s warning is also a call to courage. To turn away from the endless comparison of social media is to reclaim one’s soul. To accept that life is not flawless, that bodies carry marks, that days are not always golden, is to step into freedom. For when you stop chasing the mirage of perfection, you discover the oasis of contentment—real water, real rest, real life.

The lesson, then, is this: seek not to be perfect, but to be whole. Do not measure your worth by likes or followers, for these are as fleeting as dust in the wind. Instead, cultivate gratitude for your own journey, and honor the journeys of others without envy. Make peace with imperfection, for it is the birthplace of growth and the dwelling place of beauty.

Practical steps stand before you. Each morning, resist the impulse to compare your life to another’s. Speak aloud one truth you appreciate about yourself. Share your struggles as well as your victories, so that others may be freed from the chains of comparison. And above all, remember: perfection is an illusion, but authenticity is eternal.

Walk, therefore, not as one enslaved to shadows, but as one who embraces the light of truth. For in rejecting the idol of perfection, you will find something greater—your own humanity, radiant, flawed, and unrepeatable. And this, O listener, is the only life worth living.