Finding Balance
Prisha Mantha (She/Her)
Editorial Team Member
Social media is everywhere. It’s how we stay connected, share our lives, and even meet new people. But as much as it helps us stay in touch, it can also make relationships—whether friendships or romantic ones—a lot more complicated.
On the bright side, social media makes long-distance relationships way easier to handle. When my best friend moved to another state, I was worried we’d lose touch. But between Snapchat streaks and FaceTime calls, we’ve managed to stay as close as ever. It’s also a way to start new relationships. Most people these days meet through apps, or slide into DMs. It’s like the new way of saying “hi”, without actually saying it.
But then, there’s the not-so-great side. Social media can feel like a competition sometimes. You see friends posting about fun trips, perfect relationships, or even just looking amazing all the time, and it’s hard not to compare. I’ve caught myself wondering if my friendships or relationships are “enough”, just because I don’t have cute pictures to post. And let’s be real, not everything we see online is real—it’s just the highlights people want to show.
It also creates these weird expectations. For example, if someone doesn’t reply to a text but they’re active on Instagram, it’s easy to overthink it. I’ve had fights with friends over stuff like this, and looking back, it feels silly., Bbut it happens more often than you’d think. Social media makes us expect people to always be available, which isn’t fair.
So how do we deal with it? For me, it’s been about finding balance. I’ve started focusing more on actually spending time with people, like meeting up for coffee or calling instead of just texting. Those moments feel way more real than a quick Snapchat.
It’s also about setting boundaries. If someone takes a while to reply, I remind myself that they probably have other things going on—it’s not personal. We all need breaks from our phones sometimes, and that’s okay.
And the biggest thing? Reminding myself that what I see online isn’t the full story. Just because someone’s relationship looks perfect on Instagram doesn’t mean it is. Everyone has struggles; they just don’t post about them.
In the end, social media isn’t all good or all bad. It’s a tool, and it’s up to us how we use it. It can bring people closer or make things harder, depending on how much we rely on it. The key is to focus on real connections, not just digital ones. So yes, send that meme or post that cute picture, but don’t forget to show up for the people in your life outside of a screen.
