YourTango's Survey of "Comparison Culture" Reveals Pervasive, Disturbing Societal Impact:

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Jan 10, 2024, 13:05 ET

Respondents relate Comparison Culture to Suicidal Ideation and Self-Harm
A New Year, REAL You campaign launches, featuring #KeepItReal movement

NEW YORK, Jan. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- YourTango, the #1 publisher focused on relationships, announces the results of its survey on "Comparison Culture," and launches a New Year, ~~New~~ REAL You campaign to welcome 2024, urging everyone on social media to sign the pledge to join the #KeepItReal movement.

According to YourTango CEO, Andrea Miller, "Comparison Culture is a pervasive phenomenon whereby individuals habitually measure themselves, their achievements, possessions, and life circumstances against those of others. What we found in this survey is truly alarming and confirms our intuition about how insidious and destructive CoCul is – and how social media has magnified its devastating impact. We are calling people to join our New Year, REAL You campaign to kick off the new year and participate in our #KeepItReal movement to combat this scourge!"

From September 1-25, 2023, YourTango conducted the survey, which generated responses from 725 Internet users. This article features highlights from the survey, including quite a few very alarming open-ended answers.

One person responded, "Without Comparison Culture, I would have lived an authentic and honest version of myself… and probably wouldn't have self-harmed or tried to end my life when I was younger."

While there were some positive takeaways, the survey revealed how broadly detrimental CoCul is:

62% of people indicated that it is super or somewhat problematic in their lives.
79% stated that it is super or somewhat problematic in the lives of their kids or others they are close to.
21% claimed they compare themselves in unhealthy ways daily!
51% said one thing they compare the most to others is their finances.

Comparison Culture is especially concerning for adolescents, teens and young adults and its impact on mental health:

42% said they were under 11 when they began to compare themselves. 38% said they were 11-18.
73% link CoCul with depression and other mental health challenges.
60% reported that comparison culture leads them to feel inadequate

Young people are suffering acutely in society today and the data suggests they may even be dying from Comparison Culture. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in America for ages 15 to 24, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Other heartbreaking responses back up the data. "Because of Comparison Culture, feelings of inadequacy added to my drinking habits earlier in life. When I experience this, I often get suicidal, and no, it's not helpful," replied another respondent.

At times, it can lead to very poor judgment. Many respondents felt comparing themselves to other people motivated people to make risky financial decisions.

"I try to be frugal…but I still find myself feeling inadequate when I see others my age with really great things," a respondent admitted. "Many of my friends…are drowning in debt; so I do feel we have kind of created a terrible culture of debt and it being ok because of comparison."

Comparison is not new, but Comparison Culture is insidiously corrupting our society, which correlates directly with the ubiquity of social media.

71% feel social media is the largest contributor to Comparison Culture.
89% feel the problem is worse compared to the last decade.

YourTango has engaged publishing behemoth Raptive as a partner in this important initiative to help educate and empower those most impacted by Comparison Culture.

Miller adds, "Elon Musk! Mark Zuckerberg! Adam Mosseri! All social media CEOs! You KNOW how damaging social media is - especially to our young people. PLEASE! Be part of the solution. Acknowledge these dangerous trends and join the #KeepItReal movement! Sign our pledge and let's replace comparison with connection. Our society desperately needs all of us to do so!"

About YourTango

Reaching nearly 50mm people per month, YourTango is an independent publishing company whose mission is to Revolutionize Relationships. We are leading a movement to elevate and energize relational wellness in millions of lives.

Media Contact:
Nicole Williams
[email protected]

SOURCE YourTango