ЦПƧYMMΣƬЯIᄃΛᄂ

I didn’t even realize when I joined my first digital cult.

No, I wasn’t part of some strange underground community. I was just scrolling- harmlessly, or so I thought. One day, I was watching travel vlogs, then home cooking reels, then videos of people painting, boxing, living in minimalistic studios, and somehow, I wanted all of it. I wanted to quit my routine and see the world. I wanted to bake sourdough bread. I wanted to live in a cabin in the woods.

It felt like inspiration. It felt like freedom.

But it wasn’t.

It was an E-cult.

THE MARKETPLACE OF DREAMS( AND CONFUSION)

Social media today is a giant bazaar, but instead of clothes or electronics, what’s being sold are lifestyles.

• The travel influencer tells you: Quit your 9-5. The world is waiting.
• The fitness coach says, ‘Transform your body in 12 weeks.’ You have no excuse.
• The home chef: You’re missing out if you are not cooking everything from scratch.
• The artist: Pain can be turned into beauty- why aren’t you creating?

And there I was nodding along to all of them. It wasn’t just FOMO– it was this sense that everyone else had cracked the code to “real life”, while I was just …………………existing.

But here’s what I wasn’t seeing: these people weren’t dabbling. They were living their one thing, pouring years into it. And me? I was trying to live an eternity in a week, while barely holding onto my life.

WHEN YOU WANT EVERYTHING, YOU END UP WITH NOTHING.

The more I scrolled, the more I felt restless. It wasn’t that I didn’t like my life- it was that I felt like I was living the ” wrong “ one.

I wanted everything at once: to be a traveler, an artist, a fitness model, a writer, a chef. And when you want everything , you end up starting nothing.

This is the danger of what I call the E-CULT. You’re constantly chasing the greener grass. And when you finally sit down for retrospection, introspection, and self-discovery, you find nothing. Because there are no principles of your own. Just borrowed dreams.

WHAT I AM LEARNING ( AND WHAT MIGHT HELP YOU TOO)

I am not quitting social media. But I’m changing how I use it. Here’s what’s helping me:

• Filter aggressively. If someone’s content makes me feel like I’m behind in life, I unfollow. Inspiration shouldn’t make you feel like a failure.
• Ask ” WHY ME?” Before I want to adopt someone’s lifestyle, I ask: Does this truly align with me, or do I just like how it looks?
• One thing at a time. It’s tempting to want to be everything. But mastery comes from choosing one dream and committing to it.
• Offline grounding. The days I feel like myself? They’re the ones when I journal, walk without earphones, or do something creative just for me, not for an audience.

IF YOU’RE FEELING LOST

Maybe you’ve felt this too- the pull of wanting too much, too fast. The pressure of becoming everything you see online.

Here’s what I’ll tell you: You don’t have to live ten different lives. You just have to live yours.

It’s okay to be inspired by others. But you don’t have to jump every fence. Sometimes, the greener grass you’re chasing is just a good filter and a catchy caption.

So start small. Build your principles first. Because when you know who you are, no E- cult can pull you in.