Introduction
In 2026, more than 80 percent of people are affected by this issue. Based on my personal experience in Social Media and observation, I have not found any problem closer to home than this one. In our daily routine, we use mobile phones, Facebook, Twitter, and reels. We watch influencers and their comfortable lifestyles, and this plants a strange illusion in our hearts. We think: he has this, she went there, she ate that, or took a selfie with someone. These things raise questions about our own normal lives and put us under unnecessary mental stress. In a way, social media makes us ungrateful for what we already have.
How Rural People Are Falling Victim to This
If we look around us, people from rural and village areas are more affected by this illusion. On one hand, awareness has come to them because they now know about brands, influencers, and their lifestyles. But on the other hand, they have adopted the habit of trying to match that level of comfort in their own lives, whether or not they have the resources to do so. They are stuck in a confused mindset, chasing a race of getting ahead with a strange kind of self-deception.
We all know this, yet somehow we ignore it:
“This world and this life are temporary, a deception, and everything will one day come to an end.”
How Children Are Losing Their Innocence Through Comparison
This issue affects young children very badly as well. They watch reels and desire the same kind of beauty and luxury life, wanting to achieve it by any means. There is also a depression that comes to them from within their own families, when parents see the achievements of other people’s children and start comparing them with their own. This creates a strange mental stress in children. They become confused and restless, and this situation can even push them toward wrong actions. Our youth and children look quite beautiful on the outside, but their inner peace is gone, and from this comes irritability and frustration.
“Never compare your children with others, because every person is different from another.”
The Never-Ending Race of City People
If we look at this from the perspective of city people, the angle of thinking becomes completely different. Here, people have started giving more value to class and status. The standards of beauty and luxury shown on social media make people want the same for themselves, and they are stuck in a race of wanting more and more. Who was left behind, who got pushed down, these questions have now become meaningless to them.
My personal experience and observation is that from the outside, this urban lifestyle looks very beautiful, but if you look inside, it is like a terrifying dark night that is drowning a person in greed and arrogance and destroying their mind.
“If a person is given an entire mountain of gold, he will still desire another one.”
Hazrat Ali said:
“Hide your wealth, blessings, and happiness, because we do not know who among us is jealous or casting an evil eye.”
We should never compare our lifestyle with the lives of others, because in many ways we may already be better off than them. Allah has hidden wisdom in every matter.
Therefore, we should be grateful and look at those around us in our community, so that we remain mentally at peace and also protect others from jealousy. Because if you cannot be happy in someone else’s happiness, then you have no right to be sad either.
Frequently Asked Questions with Answers
Q1. How is social media making us chase a life of deception?
Answer:
Social media shows us a filtered and fake version of life. Influencers post only their best moments, luxury travel, expensive food, and perfect appearances. When we scroll through this content daily, our brain slowly starts believing that this is how normal life should look. We begin to feel that our own life is less valuable or incomplete. This creates a false race in our minds where we keep chasing things that are not even real. We become ungrateful for what we already have and start living in a constant state of wanting more. This is how social media traps us in an illusion and pulls us away from reality.
Q2. What effect is social media having on rural people?
Answer:
Rural people are now using social media more than ever before. While this has brought awareness about the outside world, it has also created confusion and dissatisfaction. They now see brands, expensive lifestyles, and influencer culture and feel pressure to match those standards, even without having the financial resources to do so. This creates a gap between their real life and the life they see on screen. Many fall into unnecessary stress and debt trying to imitate what they see online. Instead of feeling inspired, they end up feeling inferior and trapped in a false comparison.
Q3. How are city people becoming confused and emotionally numb?
Answer:
City people are caught in a never ending race of status and class. Social media constantly shows them higher standards of beauty, wealth, and luxury. Instead of feeling satisfied, they always want more. They have become so focused on upgrading their own lifestyle that they have stopped caring about human relationships and values. Who they pushed down, who they left behind, these things no longer matter to them. On the outside their life looks glamorous but on the inside many of them are living in greed, arrogance, and emptiness. Their mind is always restless and never at peace.
Q4. How is social media slowly depressing children?
Answer:
Children today are exposed to social media at a very young age. They watch reels and videos showing perfect beauty standards and luxury lifestyles and they begin to desire the same things. Since they do not have the means to achieve that, frustration builds up inside them. On top of that, many parents make the mistake of comparing their children with other children whose achievements they see online. This comparison damages the child’s confidence and creates anxiety and mental stress. The child becomes irritable, confused, and in some cases is even pushed toward wrong decisions just to prove themselves. Our children look beautiful on the outside but their inner peace and innocence are slowly disappearing because of this pressure.
- Why does society dismiss a woman’s Decisions?
- How social media frauds and Scams are destroying our lives
- Women as the First Protector and Guardian Angel on Earth for Their Children
- The unseen reflection: Why we judge others and are judged ourselves from others
- The illusion of unlawful Affection: Why Real peace cannot found in what Islam has forbidden