On The Blog: Should You Quit Instagram? A Middle Schooler's Perspective

Social media is not real life.

So why should we treat it like it is? 

You ask yourself every day, “Do they like me?” Well, I can tell you it's not worth starving yourself for one good picture. Social media is not worth the price of your happiness. 

The real question is: Do you like you?

A lot of teens stress about how good their pictures look, how many followers they have, and how many likes they get on a photo. For some, Instagram is their life, blood, and heart...so if that gets taken away they feel like they'll literally die. (Guilty as charged.) People actually try to harm themselves over it. 

We get so caught up in wanting the attention that we forget about our health and our happiness. 

Picture this: You're scrolling through Instagram and BAM. You see a girl you think is so pretty. She seems perfect. She might even be an angel. Then you look at yourself and all of your so-called flaws. You start comparing yourself to people, to creatures, who don't even look like humans. Eventually, you spend so much time on Instagram you barely ever see your family.

Maybe it sounds far-fetched and I can see why you would disagree with me. Instagram - and social media in general - is a good way to express yourself, stay connected with family, and talk to friends. It's also just plain old fun. But let’s face it: Even though most parents and grandparents have social media, they've never gotten on it and probably never will. Instead of using Instagram or Twitter, they'd rather text you using lots of emojis. I know my grandmother does. 

I do think social media can be extremely harmful to teens. All so many of the girls my age are doing is comparing themselves to other girls. And then they feel bad about themselves. But you don’t have to run the extra mile for someone who never talks to you. You don't have to look in the mirror every day and ask yourself, “Do they like me?” 

What you should do is look in the mirror and ask yourself “Do I like me?” That's the more important question.

-Laci Smith