What People With Autism Can Teach Us About Mental Resilience

Scrolling through social media we are bombarded by pictures of our friends’ vacations and fancy brunches, their career milestones, happy families, and fitness achievements. While we may be happy for them, these social comparisons (evaluations of oneself relative to others) can leave us feeling inadequate and dissatisfied. This may be especially true for young people—recent studies have found that social media use is associated with negative social comparisons – leading to reduced well-being, more envy, and greater depressive symptoms.