The fact is, our culture promotes social comparison which feeds the feelings of social envy. There’s a long list of studies that show a strong link between looking at social media and its negative effects on our emotional state. In one such study, Ethan Kross, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, uncovered what passive scrolling through Facebook or Instagram feed can do to our psyche: “The more you’re on there scrolling away, the more that elicits feelings of envy, which in turn predicts drops in how good you feel”.