A Message to a Young & Naive Me
Dear younger me,
First things first, what you see on social media is not always real. It is because of this, that you should never compare yourself to what or who you see on your timeline. Enjoy the now and embrace where you are in life because wishing you looked a certain way in pictures is all very superficial. These are things that you will question in university when you start going out more and taking lame “pre-bar” pictures. The reality is, you should be enjoying the current moment and the people you are with, instead of trying way too hard to make it look like you are having fun; don’t get caught up in others’ highlight reel.
Secondly, post and re-post what makes you happy, not what you think other people will like. You may get caught up in the tragic cycle of picking the “right time” to post and judging your content the second after you release it. But the truth is, the number of likes, comments or retweets you get will not change you in anyway; unless you allow it too.
Your first social media account will be Facebook in Grade 9; how exciting!! You will grow to love this site and have an attachment to refreshing your feed to see who commented on what and always needing the latest and greatest high school info. You will sometimes wonder why you are stuck at soccer practise while other people are out having fun but don’t let that FOMO (fear of missing out) distract you from your own goals.
Trust me when I say that the things you are doing every passing hour of the day does not need to be documented online. No one truly cares that your travel soccer team is away at a tournament or that you are eating a slice of pizza… It may seem to be very exciting and rewarding to broadcast your life, but trust me, you’ll want your privacy later on.
Your Grade 9 self may also experience the burning desire to use as many emojis as possible when commenting or posting online. The excessive amounts of hearts and smiley faces are just plain dramatic and you will one day regret it when your friends scroll deep into your Facebook and like your overly-excited replies. A prime example is this:
In hindsight did you really need a winky face AND a heart? I don’t think so…
You will also want to avoid the petty habit of subtweeting. Even though we both know you are not brave enough to express your real thoughts online, this tweet was definitely directed at someone or something negative.
Even though this may not be obvious to anyone but you, there is no need to direct this negative energy online. It is not good for you or your mental health. If something is really bothering you enough to tweet it, go talk to someone. Not to mention, subtweeting in general is a bad habit to get into as it is often the root of cyber bullying and other forms of online harassment.
It is also important to consider that as a young adult, YOU NEED YOUR SLEEP! You will not be able to function on less than 8 hours and spending time on social before bed is a habit you need to break. You’ll notice you will be less engaged in school, sports and relationships and generally not as happy and energized as you could be. Try shutting off your phone/laptop an hour before bed or even eliminating these devices for a whole day. You will notice the benefit and the sense of relief it brings to your life. As you can see here, you’ll even go to the lengths of publically expressing your fatigue…Instead, put the phone down and get to bed a little earlier.
Lastly, even though social media can be given a bad rep, you can use it in a positive way.
Whether it’s sharing your journey from high school to university in the States, or even just posting a memory with a friend, social media can be great; as long as you’re smart about it. Practise your version of “safe social” by always being authentic, true and positive online. Future employers will look at your pages and you’ll definitely want the best version of yourself to be shared.
