Summer seems to be an even more than usual prolific season for social media. Bored teenagers – left with plenty of time on their hands away from the structured school days – can spend endless time grooming their Instagram page (apparently, it’s all about Instagram now, forget about the old Facebook just good for middle-aged people). Scrolling through their Instagram account on their smartphone appears a fashion show’s display of tanned boys and girls wearing trendy and revealing swimsuits on a white sand beach with emerald water. By the way, I soon predict the end of fashion magazines as they have been overcome by Insta photos: we used to buy those magazines to read on holiday, but now a smartphone does all the job. With still the magic of fantastic filters.

Apparently, some young adults “sadly” spending their holiday under cooler climate or in not-so-attractive landscapes feel pushed to post fake photos to compete with their peers. Or take selfies in sexy outfits and model-like pauses to attract attention. While schools are being accused of putting too much pressure on students to achieve academically, holidays seem to be an even more stressful time for teenagers to perform to high standards physically!

While I was flying my children to one of those overseas sunny/deep blue sea/photogenic destinations that would be the perfect background for their Instagram pictures, I read an article in the airline free-magazine that left me speechless. Called “in praise of the social media check-ins”, it encouraged people to show off their perfect destination, making the life of the stay-at-home losers worthless. Just in case social media haven’t made a good enough job so far to convince you that your life was better lived through the lens of the internet!

I have since been left wondering what options are left to not-so-pretty people spending their holidays on a not-so-hot destination or plainly staying home. Speaking about mental health issues….