Social media gives students a way to connect with others, to gain creativity, and even gain some confidence, but behind the scenes, of all the “perfect” lives and edited photos are teenagers with growing insecurities and mental health struggles. While filters blur reality and followers and likes of posts become the greatest form of validation, many teens are left comparing themselves to everyone else.

Here at Vallivue High School, many students are being affected by social media’s influence on self-image. When polled, 57.8% of students at Vallivue said that when on social media, they found themselves comparing themselves to others. When asked, “Since getting social media, have you seen a change in how you act and view yourself?” 41% said a little bit and 37.3% said definitely. One student anonymously said, “Constantly seeing other people’s artificial lives from their posts gives unrealistic views of how life actually is.” Another student said, “Social media is all about comparison, so for me I decided to get rid of it all in order to be confident in myself and not so focused on keeping up with everything and everyone.” 65% of the students said that at a point in time, they have needed to take a break from social media.

A senior here at Vallivue shared a very truthful statement about how they feel about social media: “It is a waste of time, it is not showing the reality of the world. It destroys our dopamine system with the constant scrolling or the urge to get views and likes. Social media was created to keep people close while also messing with the filters, but now it separates people apart more than bringing them together, relationships, friendships, all break off because of it. Also social media is a breeding ground for cyber-bullying, I still remember a time when cyber bullying was prohibited, I even saw it in cartoons. They tried stopping it, however it all came back worse than before. Also, social media makes you see the fake side of people, when exposed to it long enough, it becomes your reality. Now kids depend on it to survive, and protest that they cannot survive without it.” 

We all need to remember the real purpose of social media, entertainment and social interaction. Even to adults, the concept of social media can be blurred. Students here at Vallivue and all around the US have such high standards for themselves while not having fully developed brains. This causes our minds to be sensitive to any form of social media which leads us to doubting ourselves. We do not all have to delete our exciting apps, we can just change how we use them. Remember, most content is not reality. We can create a line between the truth and entertainment. We can gain confidence in ourselves so when we are on social media, we won’t be as easily affected by the image shown by influencers and the standards set by our society.