Dear 13 Year Old Me…
I was only 13 when I opened my first social media account, but compared to my friends, I was considered to be one of the late bloomers to enter the social media world. I remember one of my first encounters was when I went to a sleepover at one of my friends’ houses and when I arrived all that people were doing were finding others from school on social media and judging their posts or pictures. Although this wasn’t something I really wanted to be a part of, I felt as if I was missing out on another world. That’s when I decided to enter the social media atmosphere on Instagram, and I can honestly say to this day that it has been the most interesting thing I have ever done and quite possibly the worst thing I have ever done.
It has been almost six years since I opened my first social media account; however, whenever I look at 13 year olds who are using social media today all I can think is “they’re too young”. Social media is proven to effect people in different ways, mostly negatively. Personally, social media mainly effected how I would judge myself while constantly comparing myself to other girls on Instagram. Today, Instagram uses filter bubbles to help find the posts that you want to see; this idea has recently been constantly haunting my social media explore pages, as it would always be filled with Instagram models and Instagram promoters whose lives look spectacular online. It would be hard for me not to engage in these pictures, as it would show people in tropical islands with perfect bodies and lots of friends. This unhealthy fascination all began when I came across one girl whose presence online has been particularly known through amazing pictures of her lifestyle, Alexis Ren.
I came across Alexis Ren’s page when I was 16, and was amazed by her lifestyle; she was constantly traveling, had a model boyfriend, and was a model herself. Keeping up with her page became my fascination for a while, as she wasn’t that much older than me, which made me begin to think “why can’t I live this way?”. This began my ‘dark side of social media’ period, as I was now comparing myself to a lifestyle that I just wasn’t able to reach at the time. I soon found out that I was not alone in this feeling, as every one of my friends seemed to have their own version of an Alexis Ren Instagram model who they were comparing themselves to and using for inspiration; this was the realization I needed in order to wake up from this fantasy and make the most of my life and what I had to offer instead of setting unrealistic goals.
Although I believe social media is a factor that is almost impossible for younger generations to hide from today, I still do look down on 14 year olds who have social media and feel a sense of remorse. Everyone has been affected by the ‘dark side’ of social media in one way or another, and finally realizing how young my dark side began is just sad. If I could write to my 13-year-old self, I would try and convince her to focus on herself rather than be comparing herself to others in order to save the feeling that I struggled with for so long. While it still sometimes daunts me even now when I have an explore page filled with picture perfect people in tropical places, I remind myself that not everything you see is better than what you have; it is always better to be grateful for what you are given, then wasting time wishing for what you could have.
