Scrolling through Instagram, it’s easy to feel like you’re not enough. There is always someone with a better physique, and way cooler places they’ve been to. It takes you away from us needing to love what we have. As a student at Salisbury High School balancing school athletics and my job, I found social media to be a distraction and finally learned to end this parasite on my phone. I see in my daily life how social media is not healthy.
Social media could be what people say is a double-edged sword. It’s a place where people connect, share, and explore what they’re interested in. But it’s a place where people judge, sometimes pressured and most of the time deceived.
I’ve also learned the importance of just being yourself, social media often encourages people only to show their best moments. But life isn’t perfect and that’s okay. My failures on the baseball field and on the football field and also off the field, have shaped who I am today. They’ve taught me resilience and helped me understand that growth comes from what you overcome, what you choose to face head-on, and be fine with the idea of not winning but never stop trying.
Social media may also be a big distraction for students like myself. It’s too easy to lose track of time, even if I enjoy reviewing highlights and keeping up with other people.
Learning to love what we have doesn’t mean we stop trying to improve. It’s about recognizing that our worth isn’t defined by likes, follows, or posts. For me, this realization was empowering.
I’ve begun to view social media as a tool rather than a way of life since I want to work with athletes in the future. It’s a means for me to interact with like-minded others, share my experience, and promote my goals.
I don’t believe social media will ever leave this world, so people must learn to control how much they consume. Our, our minds could be transformed if we are not worried about others and if we learn to love what’s ours.
