By HOPE BAHATI: At a café table, a university student scrolls through TikTok while waiting for a friend.

One post shows a luxurious vacation in Dubai, another displays a vibrant bouquet of flowers beside a brand-new iPhone, and a third features an influencer talking about the “soft life” and expensive brunch dates.

Quietly, the student locks their phone and stares outside for a moment, wondering if they are falling behind in life.

For many young Kenyans today, social media has become far more than a source of entertainment.

It has slowly transformed into a space where people feel intense pressure to prove they are successful, happy, attractive, and financially stable, even when reality says otherwise.

Soft life illusion

Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are flooded with luxurious lifestyles, expensive gifts, exotic vacations, designer clothes, and picture-perfect relationships.

While there is nothing wrong with celebrating success, constant exposure to these curated lifestyles is quietly taking a toll on the emotional and mental well-being of the youth.

Among university students and young adults especially, there is a growing pressure to “keep up.”

Some feel embarrassed using older phone models, repeating outfits, or admitting that they are struggling financially.

Others, on the other hand, go as far as spending money they do not have just to fit into certain social circles or to maintain a specific appearance online.

In many cases, this pressure is completely silent; people rarely speak openly about feeling left behind because social media creates the illusion that everyone else is progressing seamlessly.

As a result, many young people constantly compare their daily realities to carefully edited online content, forgetting that most people only post their highlight reels.

The rise of “soft life” culture has fundamentally shifted how success is viewed among the younger generation.

Today, expensive lifestyles are frequently equated with personal worth, beauty, or genuine achievement.

This has created highly unrealistic expectations, particularly for youth who are still navigating the complexities of school, early careers, and personal finances.

Mental health toll

The consequences of this digital keeping-up-with-the-Joneses are tangible; some students admit they actively avoid social gatherings because they cannot afford the lifestyles their peers seem to exhibit online.

Secondly, others quietly struggle with anxiety and low self-esteem after constantly comparing their lives to influencers and celebrities.

Mental health conversations in Kenya have grown significantly in recent years, with experts frequently warning about the emotional effects of unhealthy digital comparisons.

The constant pressure to appear successful can slowly erode self-confidence, leading to burnout and emotional exhaustion.

However, the narrative is beginning to shift.

A growing number of Kenyan youth are now choosing authenticity over appearances.

More people are speaking honestly online about financial struggles, unemployment, mental health healing, and the unedited reality behind glamorous social media facades.

Many are actively encouraging their peers to focus on personal growth rather than online validation.

Success does not happen on the same timeline for everyone.

Behind many perfect photos are real people facing real struggles that the internet never sees.

As social media continues to shape modern lifestyles, perhaps young people need less pressure to impress strangers online, and more freedom to grow at their own pace.