FBC – 195 – Why Is Your Life Better Than Mine?

Why Is Your Life Better Than Mine?

Today we are going to talk about social media. To be more precise, how some people use social media to present themselves to the world.

This is a subject you are surely familiar with and you might actually be able to recognize one or two people from your entourage while listening to this episode.

All the answers inside this episode…

The subject of the podcast today is show offs.

I talk to people and they're like, oh, man, you know, this guy I've seen on Facebook is living the life and has an awesome Instagram. You see these guys living the super high on life and all that stuff and blah, blah, blah. They’re travelling and they're always having fun and everything.

Well, I think that some of them might actually live like this, but for the most part, you have to understand something. And maybe nobody did a podcast about this, but what you’re seeing, well, this is the highlight of their life. All right. So on social media, people are not going to show you the mundane, right.

They're going to show you, you know, stuff that they do once in a lifetime. And they would have you believe that they do that every day. And if you're not careful, then you might actually fall into the trap of thinking that this is their life.

I mean, you go somewhere and you see these people taking pictures and selfies.  You go to a restaurant to eat with people and before you can even eat, it's like, no. Don't touch your plate. They have to take 300 selfies and all that stuff. And they're obsessed with Instagram.

My buddy was obsessed with Facebook. Facebook has become his life or like an extension of his life. This is how he wants to portray himself to the rest of the world. Right. So, you know, some people just like the attention of people commenting on this stuff like, man. You're so lucky. I want to be you.

I mean, to be honest, I think it's like a drug. So, for example, whenever we go somewhere, he will take maybe a thousand pictures a day. It is crazy. And he travels all the time and stuff. He does travel, but a lot of it is also because of all the attention of, oh, if I go there, people will be jealous.

So very often, I think the people who actually have a comfortable life. They’re actually happy in their life. You know, very often they don't necessarily have to show it off,  but a lot of them need to feel better about themselves and they want people to be jealous.

There was this thing about insta husbands'. Right. They had to take like all these crazy pictures and stuff. But I find it really disturbing how obsessed some people are with their own image and try to project an image of someone else, you know, just to make other people feel bad or something. Maybe they feel bad themselves.

Why Is Your Life Better Than Mine?

But anyway, the point is when you see that kind of stuff. I mean, some of them are actually living this kind of life. But a lot of people are just showing you the highlight of their life. Just look at your own account. And I'm not saying I don't do that stuff myself. What I'm about to say now, not that I show off or anything, but on social media, you put your best profile in.

You're not going to put yourself when you just woke up and you look like crap or something. Your profile picture is where you've selected the best one out of 50 and is the highlight of your existence or whatever.

For the most part, right. So don't be fooled like the same way you do that on your account. People do the same thing as well. So it doesn't mean that they have this life and, you know, day in and day out. OK, so the message here is like, don't believe the hype.

Stay in your lane. Don’t get jealous man. He has a better life than me and does that. That's the point. That's what they're trying to do. To get you to think “my life is better than yours”. This is what social media has become for a lot of people.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue has been building automated online businesses since 2013. He runs The Vault, a six-figure system covering Etsy, lifestyle design, AI automation, and growth hacking, without a personal brand, without filming his face, and without selling courses. He coaches solopreneurs on building durable income streams that don't require a team or a 60-hour week. Find him on YouTube and LinkedIn.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do people use social media to make their life look better than it is?

Social media rewards a polished surface, so a polished surface is what users build. The reward is attention and the cost is honesty. Most perfect life posts are 30 seconds of staged footage from an otherwise normal week. The cost is paid by the viewer who believes the story.

How does the highlight reel of others damage your self image?

Comparing your full uncut life to someone else edited highlight reel creates a gap that does not exist in reality. The damage is quiet: small daily decreases in self trust, slow drift toward content you do not value, and a constant low hum of I am behind. Audit your feed.

What is the healthiest way to scroll social media in 2026?

Treat the feed like a buffet, not a meal plan. Choose a fixed window, follow a small set of creators you would have coffee with, and unfollow anyone who consistently leaves you worse than they found you. Algorithms reward your stay, not your well being. Set the limit yourself.

Can you build a business on social media without faking your life?

Yes, and increasingly buyers prefer it. Show the messy first drafts, the failed launches, and the boring tools that actually moved the metric. Honest content compounds slower than polished content but lasts much longer and attracts a higher quality audience that does not need rescuing from disappointment later.

Related Reading

• FBC – 4 Part 1 – This is the story of my life: Success, Failure and The Hurdles.
• FBC – 3 – Escape your life of sacrifice! Don’t settle for less than your dream lifestyle.
• FBC – 8 – The Weirdest Challenge To Boost Your Confidence
• Other really cool tips that will give you an unfair advantage