Social Media's Influence and Abundance

Many of our class discussions that have dealt with social media and its abundance and impact on our lives spurred me to decide what to write this blog about, and I realized just why analyzing something like social media's role in our lives is so interesting to me. I feel that there is an underlying reason as to why we use social media so much, and that it runs deeper than we may (or want to) admit.
It has to do with our society and our "hierarchy of needs", if you will. Our society has put such an emphasis on self-actualization, which is on the top tier of the "pyramid of needs", and thats fine; however, I feel that a growing portion of the younger crowd (mainly 30 and under), has started to put too much focus on presenting themselves as a type of quasi-celebrity among their friends. To put it simply, some people focus so much on their virtual lives and looking good online that their real life and the things that really matter are neglected.
The want to compare, impress, and outdo others around us is hardly a new phenomenon. It has been around since ancient times, and it will likely never fade away. I suppose maybe a little self comparison now and then in a more personal, introspective way can be healthy, at least to keep oneself motivated, but I'm pretty sure nowadays only a small percentage of people think little to nothing about it. I myself am a victim of self and peer comparison, and I hate it. Whenever I start thinking thoughts about comparing myself to those that surround me, I try and stop, but it can be quite difficult.
These social comparisons could be anything such as feeling inferior amongst your classmates for not owning a smartphone, or something more pronounced, such as being the only one of your friends that did not attend college after high school. Like one of the articles we read for class, heavy usage of things such as facebook, twitter, and instagram can foster loneliness and can, for some people, make them feel left out or neglected from activities their friends are doing.
On the flip side, some people may turn to facebook/twitter/etc. to make them feel more alive and socially "connected," therefore living vicariously through their friends' posts and whatnot. I know I touched on a lot of stuff in this, and its not all well-connected and fleshed out, but hopefully you get the jist of what I am trying to get across.