The Struggle of Anxiety Disrupted by Images of Peace on Social Media
University is undoubtedly a stressful time for everyone, and it’s a nice thought knowing no one is alone in that. What’s not so nice is that not everyone is comfortable showing it. Sure, there are plenty of places for this type of dialogue on university campuses (in classes, with counsellors, among peers, at events…) but it’s what’s happening away from the schools that is especially troubling. When we present our best selves on social media, we further isolate people and their anxieties because all of a sudden it looks like none of us struggle. Does this cause us to fight in silence?
Anxiety and stress is by far the largest mental health challenge at universities today (as Bailey Parnell confirmed). These anxieties stem from numerous places — school itself (assignments, deadlines, your GPA), maintaining a social life and relationships with family, having a job (which more and more students are being forced to do… Thanks Obama), paying bills… what it boils down to is that one aspect alone is not the most stressful part of being in university, but the balancing act we must perform. In doing that, I think we lose one more thing that requires balancing that might make the rest of it a little bit easier — taking care of ourselves.
With all we have to accomplish in a day, where does self-care fit in? I personally can admit that I don’t make enough time for it, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Something people (myself included) probably do make more time for is social media, and this can become problematic considering what it is that people put out on there. While I’ve definitely been witnessing people being more open and honest about their challenges on various platforms, the facade of happiness is present as ever.
As we’ve learned, our social media feeds are our highlight reels. We showcase our best moments, which does make sense because it’s fair to want more sensitive and vulnerable times to be private. I think it’s fair to say that most people are aware of that fact — we know that the posts we scroll through aren’t reality, but we tend to perceive it as such, leaving us feeling ashamed about our own weaknesses. When we’re stuck balancing our work, school, and social lives, watching our friends’ trip to Bali or romantic date night makes it feel like everything is great for everyone else when it’s definitely not. People have their own baggage, whether or not the whole world knows it.
We have to take the online world with a grain of salt — snapshots don’t show the whole story. We do a huge disservice to ourselves when we compare our every moment — the ugly, the mundane, and the great — to someone’s select and best few. Practicing caution online is vital for maintaining mental health, especially during the crucial university years. Further, I think the onus is on us to be more open and sometimes even vulnerable online. Social media is a powerful tool. Instead of letting it harm our mental health, we should be using it to improve it for us and everyone else.
