Risk to Reward of social media

I am currently writing to help the school body, teachers, staff, parents, and most importantly the students that are unaware of the damage that social media can cause to young minds and affect their mental health. It is no secret that social media can be extremely entertaining and useful when it comes to involving oneself in local community events or keeping in touch with friends and family that may live across the country or even the world. I believe that without it, I would not know distant cousins and have even been able to try out some cool swimming holes from friends of friends posting about their adventures. However, I also am finding myself and noticing my friends as well, sinking into this endless hole of not fully engaging at the moment but checking on social media, trying to get our pictures right, for social media, but not fully being in the moment. I am afraid that we are wasting some of the best times of our lives, getting hung up on something that was meant to be a positive addition to our lives, but now becoming an obsession.

For an instant, I find myself comparing myself to others on social media, someone recently posted about their weight loss journey and I found myself almost quitting my own because I did not feel that I was getting the results as quickly as that person. MY weight loss journey should not be about others, but a personal challenge I have given myself. I have also witnessed other students in my school bullying other students that happened to get tagged on social media for something that they had nothing to do with. That affected them enough that they skipped their senior prom.

I have spoken to my counselor about my concerns with social media and its effects on my mental health. She informed me that there are hundreds of studies out there that have proven that social media can cause problems sleeping and causes mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. The biggest concern is that many people are are also prioritizing social media time over their physical health, there are a lot fewer students out and about being physical active.

I know that this one letter is not going to give anyone the motive to go out and delte the social media applications off their phones, but maybe make everyone a little more aware of the damage that this can cause. Turn off your data for an hour a day, put your phone away when you’re having dinner, or make some time without any devices for the family at the end of the day. Read a little before bed instead of scrolling aimlessly for hours. I just hope that everyone can be a little more mindful of how much they are consumed with social media.

“‘New York Blur’, United States, New York, New York City, Lower East Side” by WanderingtheWorld (www.ChrisFord.com) is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.