Who Controls Who? Social Media vs Self



Have you ever felt a strange, unsettling drop in your mood after scrolling through social media? I have. For the longest time, I couldn't put my finger on why. It wasn’t until I found myself in my office two hours earlier than usual, listening to a lecture, that I began to understand.

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I was completely captivated by Ethan Kross, who was teaching a Michigan MOOC about the psychological effects of social media. I'll admit I was hesitant at first, thinking, "Everybody knows how social media works." But Kross had a powerful message. He explained how our moods can rise and fall with every post, and he shared a finding that stopped me in my tracks: the more people used Facebook, the worse they felt. This made me take a hard look at my own social media habits.

What's Really Driving Our Negative Feelings?

From that lesson, I learned that so many of us feel immense pressure to curate perfect online lives. We spend time taking photos, adding effects, and using Photoshop just to get validation from a digital audience. This constant need for validation can have a dark side. I learned that it can lead to low self-esteem and, tragically, has even contributed to suicide, especially among teenagers and young adults who are trying to mimic the impossibly perfect lives they see online.

The thought of this sent a chill through me. Where is the world heading if we don't guide our children on how to navigate this?

What About the Next Generation?

My thoughts immediately shifted to the children in my life. As an aunt and a mentor, I had to ask: what kind of generation are we raising? So many of the kids I know have their own YouTube channels, TikTok accounts, and Facebook pages.

Sara Clark, as if she read my thoughts, gave me some very useful answers. In her lesson, Parental Then, a lecture by Sara Clark provided some crucial answers. In "Parental Perspectives on Young Children and Social Media," she explained the importance of supervising what our children consume online. She shared a chilling example of a little girl who watched a TikTok video of someone dropping a dog from a roof. While the video was fake, Sara warned that an innocent child might try to copy it. It's a scary thought, isn’t it?

My Takeaway

These lessons have taught me that social media is a powerful tool, but it's meant for engaging and connecting with people, for building community and offering support. It's not for consuming counterfeit glorification that leaves us feeling empty.

I've learned that we need to have open, clear conversations about social media. I plan to use this knowledge to help spread the message of self-awareness and digital wellness wherever I go.

As Charlie Caruso reminds us, "Social media is a powerful tool to raise awareness and create change. But we must take care not to rely upon it as a reflection of our charitable efforts.”