Protecting Your Peace Online This Valentine’s Day: Posting Love vs Living Love
Waking up on February 14, you will see pictures of roses and bouquets and surprise chocolates and it’s OK to compare yourself or to feel jealous that’s what being human is. There’s a difference between posting your love and living a life of love. You can’t measure your relationship off of Internet aesthetics. You measure your relationships through love, affection and care.
When you’re posting your Valentine’s Day content, if you’re with your significant other, and you’re taking pictures of the two of you or with your friends out at lunch, think to yourself, am I seeking validation from people online? why did I decide to post this? Because I felt obligated? And, does posting this actually make me feel happier? It’s okay to spend the day off-line and focus on things are the most important to you rather than the things you think are most important to everyone else.
Even if you don’t have a significant other Valentine’s Day is just as important for you. Valentine’s Day is about love in every capacity. We express love through so many things in life; friendships, family, self-love, etc. Loving yourself is about giving yourself, patience and listening to your body because you’re the only one who can understand it so this Valentine’s Day listen to your body and give yourself what you truly need. That is one of the greatest forms of love.
It’s okay to set to your boundaries, especially today. If you ever feel inferior to your peers online or left out just stop scrolling. You have the power to stop and if everyone’s online presence feels like too much, turn off your notifications and take a break.
Remember, social media shouldn’t measure your love life. Love is an intimate experience that can lose its value when you start to preform for an audience. There’s nothing wrong with posting but remember as you look on Instagram on Valentine’s Day:
You don’t need a public display to prove your worth.
You don’t need to have a partner to feel validated, find validation in yourself.
Love is safest when it is secure — not preformed.
