We are the Guinea Pig Generation

It is both fortunate and unfortunate that we are the first generation to have gone through our academic careers with such a big online presence, more importantly, the use of social media platforms. The use of social media in University gives us easier access to the University’s resources. I can book a study room from my apartment in the matter of minutes. It also allows us to communicate easily with professors and colleagues. But the negative effect that it has on our mental health is definitely something that almost every student can agree with. We are exposed to different messages, memes, social interactions and much more on a daily basis. These collection of posts that we come across every day are altering our emotions and thoughts at such a rapid pace. From personal experience, when I find myself finally feeling happy and less anxious about my life in general, I often open one of my social media feeds and the slightest meme joking about the school work that’s approaching or a joke about anxiety can set me right back into a bad mood. Granted, it is my fault that I open my social media feeds, but at the same time social media is something that we cannot just avoid. Often times our classes, such as this one, depends on it. If you are individual trying to build a business or a brand for yourself, social media platforms are crucial to your success. This love hate relationship with these social media platforms have caused me great distress for years. I attempt greatly to not overthink Instagram posts but find myself focusing so much on what will drive in more likes and comments. I often shy away from posting or sharing posts on Facebook in fear of not getting enough traffic on it. These are worries that were not experienced by generations before us during their academic endeavours and that are having a huge effect on student’s today. University is suppose to be a time to build up personalities and skills. Find out our strength and weaknesses. We are not suppose to be putting our focus on what can give us more likes and success on social media platforms and reactively focusing our mind and time on all social media platforms. In the past few years I have experienced anxiety and problems with low self-esteem. I have come to the conclusion that school’s can’t control our use of social media and promote us to unplug. I truly believe it’s an unrealistic way to approach the situation. Instead, schools should promote use to acknowledge that extreme use of social media is a problem, and promote us to view it as a problem. Furthermore, not only do schools need to focus on removing the negative stigma attached to depression and anxiety, they must actively invest and encourage students to seek out therapeutic help. As someone who has been to many therapy sessions, I believe that building a strong mental mind contributed greatly to how I viewed social media. Certain posts that would cause anxiety in the past, I am now able to control and work through those anxieties. Social media is playing a big role in University students, and I think I speak for most students when I say it’s definitely causing negative problems in our academic development. My advice to all those who are able to relate to these feelings is to explore therapeutic and mindfulness options. Meditate and put focus on self-awareness and how your unique mind functions. Take control of your thoughts and analyze how you can alter them. By doing so, you can change your social media experiences while using the platforms for all the magnificent, positive reasons, and ignoring and not letting the negative ones affect your mental health.