90$ Ќɨď $µя˅ɨ˅ąℓ ǥµɨď€: The Secret to Surviving in a Digitally Dependant World
The logo above says it all. A revolutionary time and the place to be for any 90s kid. If you don’t get all the feels just seeing the logo, these should ring a bell;
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- Getting mad if someone copied your text font and colour.
- Watching someone type forever, until you realize they’re logged off — and were never actually typing.
- Having conversations with these, regardless of the context.
We’ve definitely come quite a long way since these days and its fair to say, so have our grade 4 selves and the content we engage with and contribute to on modern day platforms.
There are four social media stressors that have been recognized and associated with the extreme use of social media today and the effects it can potentially have. If these stressors go untreated they can, in fact, turn into true mental health issues.
- Highlight Reels, refer to the idea that we struggle with insecurities because we compare our ‘behind the scenes’ life to everyone else’s ‘highlight reels’ or best, and most emphasized life that we see on platforms like, Instagram.
- Social Currency, refers to the idea that likes=value, and this value defines self-worth. It also addresses the idea that if it’s free, YOU are the product — your attention is the payment.
- FOMO, you know when all your friends are doing something so average but you have that extreme worry that you’re missing out on the next best thing. This is the Fear Of Missing Out, an actual social anxiety which is greatly proven by our everyday feelings and this true statistic: 7/10 students would get rid of their social media if it weren’t for FOMO.
- Lastly, a more traditional stressor — Online Harassment. Harassment is a form of behaviour which is unwanted and discriminatory and causes negative physical or mental impacts. Online harassment poses is a real threat because if the harasser cannot see the physical or emotional response that the behaviour initiates, their brain is not being trained to stop doing those hurtful actions.
As an active social media user and a digital native, I resonate with each and every one of these stressors. A casual scroll through Instagram will often leave me wondering; why I eat so much, how I could get rich quick, why I only get XXX likes when my friends get XXXX, why I’m not at _______, or why the girl from high school I was never friends with and haven’t spoken to in 2 years is commenting on content of me, about me, but not @me.
Each and every time I am on social media these stressors have overtly or subconsciously affected me. From the time I deactivated my Facebook in grade 8 to the time I got received screenshots of comments about me on someone else’s profile in grade 12, it has been apparent that online interactions are a completely different nature than those that are face to face. Recognizing this is one of the first steps to a content and healthy online self.
If it is inevitable to avoid the stressors and seems it always will be, I would reassure my younger self of a lot of things;
I would tell her that abstinence might not be an option but precaution is. It’s not easy to avoid the online world and all that comes with it but it is easy to maximize your wellness based on what/who you engage with and further receive from the online world. I would tell her that the guy on MSN who made her feel bad about herself didn’t matter and never would in regards to who she is as a person. I would tell her that she would go on to be a better person than the kids in grade 8 who made her feel insignificant and wrong for choosing a different path. I would tell her that all throughout high school there would be twice as many people who would appreciate her than those who would pick at her through a screen. I would assure her that each and every step through social media would bring her to a more content place where, yes, she will feel these stressors but, she will feel them on a level that doesn’t further define her as a person. I would tell her that she will be content with any amount of likes because despite they say, a routine tap doesn’t define what you can and can’t do or who you are or who you aren’t. I wish that she would understand that the people who would give her the most grief were the people who actually had the most issues and insecurities despite what their online self depicts. I want her to understand that yes, she will feel these stressors and feel overwhelmed by them at times, but, she should more importantly know that she will physically be surrounded by the most impeccable people and experiences. For the future I think its most important for this still so young girl to know that getting caught up, and getting overwhelmed is easy, but being ‘social safe’ is just as easy if she takes the right time and has the right mentality. Things are most definitely not slowing down in the online world and the idea of controlling yourself, portraying yourself, and shaping yourself based on online validation may only be getting stronger. But, so is the precautionary measures and recognition of online stressors, effects and wellness. Embrace your ‘xo-littlemonkey-xo’ self but accept the @mclrachael self and move them in the right direction to ‘safe social’, continue to allow them to understand the structure of an online self, and ensure that they are presently educated on this front as well.
Whatever self you’re going to be, be the most aware, the most optimistic, and the most authentic one possible.
