The Pressure to be Perfect
A persuasive composed by Alexis (Year 9)
Have you ever stopped for a moment and realised that, somehow, we’ve found ourselves constantly chasing a version of a version of ourselves that doesn’t even exist?
Every day we scroll past filtered photos, perfect bodies, perfect lives, but it’s not real. It’s an illusion. And sometimes we don’t even realise we are being fooled.
Social media can be a really negative platform for young people if it’s not used in the right way. The pressure to be this “perfect” version of ourselves that we see online is exhausting. It affects your mental health and your mindset, changing the way we view ourselves and making you believe you’re not good enough.
Almost everywhere you look, there seems to be this standard we’re supposed to reach, and if we don’t, then somehow we’ve failed. A lot of this pressure comes from online, where everything appears to be perfect and effortless. But what we see online isn’t reality. It’s filtered, edited, and carefully chosen. We forget that no one’s life is perfect all the time.
People post their highlights, not their struggles.
Not everything online is real, yet we trust it without even questioning it. Before we even realise it, we are chasing something that doesn’t actually exist. We compare ourselves to it, trying to measure up to an impossible idea.
For a lot of teenagers, social media has become one of the biggest sources of pressure. Studies show that teens spend an average of four and a half hours a day on social media. That’s hours every day feeding your mind images of people who seem to have the “perfect life,” and the longer you look, the more you start believing the lies and doubting your worth.
Every time we open our phone, we are met with images of who we’re supposed to be and how we’re supposed to look and act. Without even realising it, we start to change the way we present ourselves, creating a version that feels more acceptable online. Over time, the constant comparison can get into your head, making you feel like if you don’t look the same, act the same, or live the same life as those online, then you’re somehow “not enough.” It’s a feeling that slowly grows, and it can make you forget your own value.
I’ve often caught myself deleting photos because I didn’t look the way I wanted to. I’ve changed my words just to make them sound more appealing to people I don’t even know. But in those moments, I wasn’t being myself. I was being the version of myself that I thought people wanted to see, the version that was purely scripted for social media. And I know I’m not the only one who’s felt that way.
We often forget that social media only shows a tiny part of someone’s life. It doesn’t show the bad days, the struggles, or the moments when things aren’t perfect. Behind every “perfect photo” is someone sitting behind their screen, watching the likes go up and waiting for approval. Waiting for numbers on a screen to tell them that they matter. But those numbers mean absolutely nothing. They don’t define who you are, and they most certainly don’t define your worth. Your worth comes from yourself, not from what other people think.
At the end of the day, the only opinion that truly shapes your life is your own.
Some people say that social media can be inspiring, and sometimes it can be. But inspiration can be harmful when it turns into comparison, and comparison can make you feel unworthy.
Your life is not a highlight reel. Your worth is not measured by likes or follows. And the person you are in real life will always matter more than the version you try to create online.
So the next time you open your phone and start scrolling, ask yourself something:
Are you becoming a better version of yourself, or are you chasing an illusion that was never really possible to begin with?
