by Leah Peloff  ’18

It is widely known that social media can be bad for teen’s mental health. It may decrease one’s face-to-face interaction skills and can lead to obsession over likes, comments, followers, etc. But one huge problem stemming from social media use goes beyond these common criticisms of technology; they only show your best moments. The cool vacations, best outfits, and “perfect” relationships are portrayed with the subconscious hope of making other people jealous. As teenagers scroll through these seemingly flawless lives, they don’t realize that it is just a highlight reel and not a reality. Whether it is “they are so much prettier than me,” “they go on so many cool vacations, they must be so wealthy,” or “how is their body so perfect” we begin to feed ourselves these thoughts of self-doubt and lessened self-worth.

Teenagers throughout history have been known to struggle with being confident with themselves as individuals. But with relatively new dominance of social media in society, this commonality is becoming much worse. With summer coming up and therefore even more “my life is so perfect” posts, I think it is extremely important for students to take breaks from the daily scrolling, liking, and commenting. Step out of this virtual world for a while and let yourself breathe.