Social Media in the Digital Age

Everything exists under interwoven layers of truth, and the truth itself exists alongside the hidden lies. This, what we like to call “truth,” is multidimensional, and it comes the same way with social media- our most beloved platform in our generation today. Within social media, there are layers of comforting lies beside disheartening truths, and loving community beside unbreakable walls before I exist. This social media is ingrained in adolescents’ culture whether we love it or not. Yes, we may have the choice to download instagram on our smartphones, but wherever we look, to the left or right, we are faced with this foggy wall of information that seems so unnecessary yet necessary. Most adolescents use social media to build on social communication and friendships, to exchange ideas and pictures in the hopes to develop new interests, and mainly to experiment with new forms of expression. Social media feels as this secondary world that seems so close yet far from us, where we can truly express our “true” selves or voices that seem so risky in real life, aka “IRL,” (but just to the extent where we aren’t left feeling judged.) I can speak for myself and on behalf of my adolescent community that our relationship with social media is simply confusing. It’s a love hate relationship that we cannot just run away from. The “in-your-face” friend tallies, status updates, and pictures of others having a good time may leave one feeling inadequate while leaving others with a boost of inspiration and positivity about themselves. Social media provides us with a magic spell that has a potential of creating a healing space with a danger of killing our humanity if handled insensitively: the ability to choose what to reveal about ourselves, and promote positive characteristics while filtering out the negatives, without having to share our truest form of self.