There is something so powerful about holding a device that can show you the world, no matter how dark that world may be. Many people have access to platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat or YouTube.. These stories of adults who grew up riding bicycles around neighborhoods with phones attached to walls and newspapers being their local source of news aside from gossip seem like a fairy tale. It is almost incomprehensible now to think that I could not reach my friends with a short text or do research for a paper with a quick search on Google. Although having the world in a portable electronic device has its advantages, each day it seems to be more harmful than helpful, especially for the younger minds.
It is already widely known that the media negatively affects sleep, induces depression, anxiety and self-esteem. But it can also become an addiction for many people without them even noticing. For a device with so many benefits, it completely warps the image one has of themselves and everything around them, especially in high school.
In eighth grade, I remember being so excited to experience high school. I had grown up watching all these teenage movies, but I was crushed to find out that high school is, in fact, not like the movies. Detention is actually quiet and set in a very un-breakfast-club-like setting. Teachers have strict deadlines, football games are rarely packed, there are not a whole lot of pretentious jocks who run the school nor are there any love songs being sung from the bleachers.
In reality, high school is quite demanding and extremely stressful. There is always another assignment and a test to study for. Balancing school, sports, jobs and social lives is not as fun as the media makes it out to be. Not everyone can be the Rory Gilmore we have grown up seeing on TV.
I have missed out on many fun opportunities outside of school due to homework, studying, sports and having a job. As a senior, it is harder to have fun because of the pressure of college applications. It feels like every student has taken millions of Advanced Placement classes every year and started world-hunger-ending non-profits. How can one even compete with that?
Social media has also rewired how love is viewed. As teenagers, most of us do not have jobs or money that does not belong to our parents. Some do not have cars, nor do we have the freedom that comes with adulthood. The media will tell teenagers all these impossible hoops to jump through to find and keep love, when, as teenagers, it is just not feasible. I mean, we have not even seen the world, how are we supposed to give the world to someone else?
If you are not on the relationship side of TikTok, then you are on the hookup culture side. Situationships, talking stages and hookups, literally, what are they? In the end, everyone just wants love. So why does it seem so impossible to find it? All of these semi-relationships are ridiculous. How long do you need until you know if you like a person or not? It is either a yes or a no. I will always live by the quote, “When you know, you know.” I mean, not everyone you may have a crush on is destined to be your partner, and that is okay. You do not have to ignore your standards to find your person. It does not have to be as hard as everyone makes it out to be.
The media is just comparing and comparing and comparing. Not only does comparison become the thief of joy, but it also makes you incapable of creating it in the first place. I still struggle with this every single day. I always need to remind myself that I am enough and that social media is just noise. I know how harmful it is, and I also know how difficult it can be to turn off your phone and not compare yourself to impossible standards. Whether it be beauty standards, intelligence, health or your organizational skills, do not let false images take away from you as a person. You are so deep and complicated and full of amazing qualities, so do not let your phone take that away from you. When you feel yourself stooping lower and lower, the deeper you scroll, put down your phone and go outside. Pet your dog, talk to your parents, say hi to the sibling that you forgot is home and do not let the media ruin your day or the image you have of yourself. Take care of yourself, because the media never will.
