The room glowed blue in the darkness.
It was past midnight, and **Rin** lay curled up under a blanket, face lit only by the phone screen. Everyone else in the house slept, but Rin's eyes were wide awake.
**"Just one more scroll,"** Rin whispered.
Except that wasn't true.
One scroll led to another.
One video became ten.
One "quick check" became two silent hours.
---
### **THE PERFECT WORLD**
Rin had joined a new school three months earlier.
It wasn't awful—but it wasn't comfortable either.
Teachers were strict,
Friends were few,
And every classroom corner echoed with laughter Rin wasn't part of.
But online?
Online was magic.
Influencers with perfect smiles.
Teens with flawless skin.
Toppers who never seemed to study.
Travelers visiting dream cities.
Gym-fits, couple goals, study desks, iced coffee aesthetics.
Everyone looked happy.
Everyone looked successful.
Except Rin.
---
### **THE FIRST CRACK**
One Tuesday morning, Rin woke up with burning eyes and a pounding head.
After all, the sleep lasted only three hours.
At school, Rin's mind wandered:
Instead of paying attention, thoughts drifted to reels, memes, edits, trends.
In lunch break, Rin found a quiet corner and opened the phone again.
Swipe.
Like.
Share.
Save.
And unknowingly, Rin compared:
*Their life vs mine.*
*Their clothes vs mine.*
*Their achievements vs my failures.*
One post stung:
**"If your life isn't exciting, you're not living it right."**
Rin swallowed hard.
Was life being wasted?
---
### **THE TRAP**
The trouble started when Rin uploaded a photo—just a simple selfie taken near a mirror.
At first, nothing happened.
Then,
One like.
Five likes.
Ten.
Rin's heart fluttered.
Notifications felt like applause.
*Maybe this is where I belong,* Rin thought.
*Maybe online is the real world.*
So Rin uploaded more—selfies, food pictures, random quotes.
Soon comments appeared:
🔥 "Cool!"
😍 "Nice look!"
🎉 "Slay!"
Rin felt invincible.
Until someone commented:
**"Trying too hard."**
Four words.
More painful than a slap.
Rin stared at them all night.
---
### **THE SPIRAL**
From that moment, Rin started chasing approval:
• Posting at the "right" time
• Using trending music
• Rewriting captions again and again
• Retaking photos fifty times
• Editing every inch of the face
• Deleting posts that didn't get enough likes
Social media wasn't a window anymore.
It was a **mirror**.
And it showed only what Rin hated:
• Not good enough
• Not attractive enough
• Not interesting enough
Offline, Rin barely spoke.
But online, Rin tried to shine—louder, brighter, faker.
---
### **THE SNAP**
One evening, while scrolling, Rin came across a reel of students laughing together with a caption:
**"If you don't have a squad, you're not living."**
A quiet ache burst open.
Rin threw the phone face-down on the pillow—but picked it up again immediately.
*Why couldn't life be like theirs?*
The tears came silently, the kind you wipe before anyone sees.
Across the hall, Rin's mother called,
"Dinner!"
Rin pretended not to hear and kept scrolling.
---
### **THE COLLAPSE**
Things got worse.
Schoolwork slipped.
Marks plunged.
Friends drifted.
Rin stopped sleeping.
Stopped reading.
Stopped **living**—outside the glowing screen.
Until it happened.
---
### **THE EXPOSURE**
One morning, Rin walked into class and felt a strange silence.
Whispers followed, eyes darted.
A classmate, Arohi, whispered to another,
"Look, that's the one who keeps posting cringe pics."
Someone else smirked,
"Fame failed."
Rin's heart froze.
The teacher dismissed class for break, and Rin fled to the restroom, locking the stall door tightly.
That night, Rin deleted every post.
The screen was suddenly empty—like Rin's chest.
But the silence didn't bring peace.
It brought questions.
---
### **THE TURNING POINT**
Later that week, Rin stayed back after class to collect notebooks.
The school counselor, **Ms. Isha**, passed by and paused.
"You look tired," she said gently.
Rin shrugged, "I'm fine."
She didn't leave.
"Do you know what the problem with social media is?"
Rin blinked.
"Everyone shows the best 5% of their life, and we compare it with 100% of ours."
Rin felt chills.
She continued,
"You're not supposed to compete with pictures.
Real life isn't filters and followers.
It's habits, effort, and people who care about you."
Something inside Rin cracked open.
All this time, Rin wasn't lacking life.
Rin was **missing life**—chasing screens instead of moments.
---
### **THE RESET**
That night, Rin did something unimaginable.
Turned off notifications.
Uninstalled two apps.
Set a screen limit.
Placed the phone outside the bedroom.
For the first time in months,
Rin slept.
Deeply.
The next day, sunlight felt brighter.
Breakfast tasted real.
In school, Rin noticed classmates laughing—not perfectly, not for likes—but genuinely.
At lunch, a classmate waved,
"Come sit with us?"
Rin hesitated, then smiled and walked over.
It felt awkward…
But real.
---
### **THE NEW REALITY**
Slowly,
Life returned:
• Homework done on time
• Marks rising back
• Head clearer
• Friendships growing
• Nights peaceful
• Mornings calm
Rin learned to scroll—but not drown.
To post—but not perform.
To live—but **offline first**.
---
### **THE MESSAGE FOR EVERY TEEN**
Social media isn't evil.
But the danger lies in:
❌ Comparing yourself to edited lives
❌ Craving validation from strangers
❌ Letting likes define your worth
❌ Losing hours you'll never get back
Remember:
✨ Nobody posts their failures
✨ Everyone edits their flaws
✨ And perfection is a lie
Your real life—
with messy hair,
half-slept mornings,
imperfect smiles,
and genuine friendships—
is worth more than every like in the world.
The suspense is always the same:
**Will teens control social media,
or will it control them?**
Rin made a choice.
And so can you.