Social media is unrealistic but has both positive and negative impacts

At the start of high school, senior Katrina Sung was someone who cared about everything from likes to comments to captions on social media.

Yet over time, Sung felt like her posts no longer reflected her real personality. So in addition to her main Instagram account, Sung created a new art account, where she could start showing her talents to her peers.

“I’ve always found it hard to keep my ideas and thoughts to myself,” Sung said. “I really appreciate having multiple platforms to express myself.”

Social media platforms are a core part of the American lifestyle, especially among teens. A survey conducted by the University of Chicago found that among teens aged 13-17, 76 percent use Instagram, 75 percent use Snapchat and 66 percent use Facebook.

Students here are no different. At school, social media accounts, most notably Facebook, have become almost universal. On the platform, students can ask each other questions about homework, collaborate on group projects or even form study groups.

However, many students don’t realize that what their peers post on social media are often far from reality. On many online platforms, people tend to put on a “mask” to hide their true personalities. Filters and picture-editing tools produce flawless photos that fill social media with content so heavily distorted that it is no longer an accurate representation of real life.

“Social media allows me to see the contrast between the personalities of people I know in real life and the personalities they portray to the rest of the world,” sophomore Ashvin Maheshwar said. “This contrast is intriguing because it shows just how easily one can pretend to be the next cover of Vogue by having nice photos when, in reality, that same person is really not as ‘cool.’”

Since social media provides the rare opportunity to connect with more people, freshman Isaac Sun said he uses social media as a way to learn more about his classmates.

“I feel like social media is an outlet for many people to express themselves when they otherwise wouldn't,” Sun said. “It lets me have a glimpse into the lives of other people that I otherwise would've never seen, and that makes me more inclined to interact with these people.”

Unsurprisingly, studies have shown that social media also plays a key factor in making teenagers feel envious of other people and even worse about themselves.

These findings are supported by a study mentioned in an article by Peter Walker, a journalist from The Independent newspaper. The study shows that people who used Facebook rated their life satisfaction a 7.74 out of 10 average, but those who didn’t use the app rated their satisfaction at 8.11.

“The effect of quitting Facebook on well-being was greater for users who feel ‘Facebook envy’ than for users who do not,” Walker wrote. “To make things clear, one should use Facebook less to increase one’s well-being.”

Assistant principal Kerry Mohnike, who has dealt with many students’ problems on social media, relates this jealousy online to students’ feelings of their own incompetence.

“Often, students are distraught or overcome by feelings of inadequacy or humiliation because of someone posting an unflattering image of them or thinking that they simply aren't as good as someone else,” Mohnike said.

Sophomore Christine Lee has experienced this feeling of incompetence when using social media.

“I’ve felt inadequate when seeing somebody’s post about what they’ve accomplished or where they went on vacation during break,” Lee said. “It makes me so sad when I see a lot of people doing things while I’m just staying at home.”

What can students do if they feel under siege from social media? For one, school officials recommend talking with on-campus CASSY therapists or guidance counselors.

One of those CASSY therapists, Kaitlin Eastland, said about 50 percent of students talk to her about something related to social media, and an even higher proportion acknowledge that being on a screen in general interferes with academics.

One of the most prevalent social media issues Eastland has seen are the altered expectations teens have of themselves.

“The way that students compare their lives to the ones that they see on social media can be problematic,” she said. “Each student knows all the good stuff and bad stuff about their own life, but they’re only seeing the good stuff in other people’s lives.”

To combat this, Eastland suggests disconnecting from social media every day by taking at least an hour-long break.

“In the past, there we couldn’t access social media at our fingertips,” she said. “Students would go home and have some time to decompress. The brain needs that kind of space to think and reflect on the day, but now we’re not getting that — it’s just constant updates.”

Nevertheless, Sung believes the best way to use social media is to use it for self-improvement.

“It’s definitely hard sometimes not to compare yourself to the people you see on social media,” Sung said. “But again, it should be about who you are and how to capture an honest image of yourself and use those moments to motivate yourself to be a better person.”