Reportaje - SOCIAL MEDIA: A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

SOCIAL MEDIA: A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

By Annia Gutierrez Zavala

From content sharing to social consciousness, social media has provided a safe space where everyone can find a way to fit into society.

But Aaron Krasnow (47), associate vice president of ASU’s Health and Counseling Services Arizona State University, thinks that social media is a double-edged sword when it comes to college minds.

“There's this idea as if we’re all brands, and we sometimes forget that what we see online is often to promote the best version of our brand,” Krasnow said.

According to the Behavioral Health Barometer from the State of Arizona, around 15% of teenagers report having issues with their mental health and/or dealing with depression.

Krasnow believes this is often due to the fact that younger minds forget that social media only shows the good side of life and that behind the screen something completely different could be happening.

However, a study done by Harvard University in 2020, found that if well-used, social media can be a tool of improvement since it provides people with the ability to connect — or feel connected at least.

Krasnow believes that social media can be used for good to some extent, but it all depends on how our minds perceive the things other people share online.

“In the end, social media is a tool, a very sophisticated one and you have to be careful on how you use it,” Krasnow said.

Communities and movements like the LGBTQ+ or Black Lives Matter have made a huge impact through social media, by providing a safe space for people who felt abandoned or alone.

“Like any other thing, social media has provided us with good and bad consequences,” Krasnow said. “Social media provided platforms to people who had no way of feeling safe, to people with no access to anyone like them, and that’s what we should be fomenting.”

For the last couple of years, social media and interaction through the Internet have increased among college students. According to Alexander Halavais (49), an associate professor for data & society at ASU, this is due to us feeling alone or “physically isolated.”

“It can become a dependency. But this is also a bit tricky. We are social animals. A dependency on communicating with friends is, within reason, hardly a problem,” Halavais said. “Social media allows us to maintain our connections across large geographical spaces, and during times when we cannot meet with the people we love.”

When it comes down to reducing the amount of time online, most students have agreed they can’t go without using social media.

In a non-scientific survey done on several ASU students, 22 out of 26 students said even though they are afraid that social media may affect their future negatively, they still wouldn’t stop using it.

More than 50% of the students interviewed felt as if they had to project a certain image or idea when online because of the “cancel culture” that has recently arisen among Generation Z.

“I am a journalist and at times I’m literally afraid to say any sort of opinion because someone will automatically cancel me, and think badly of me, instead of just having an open and respectful debate or conversation,” said Alexia Hill (20), an ASU sophomore journalism student and a member at Barrett, The Honors College.

According to Hill, social media has stigmatized the meaning of freedom and consciousness, and it breaks every time someone has a different perspective or opinion in life.

“They (social media) seem like platforms of performative activism by companies and influencers, but in reality, they don’t care about anyone but themselves or their mainstream ideas,” Hill said.

For Hailey Berry (25), an ex-social media influencer and college student at The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, social media was her whole work during her early college years.

After the pandemic, it became too much pressure, she felt as if she had to be someone she’s not.

“I used to be quite famous online. To the point where people recognized me in the street. One day I just got tired of it, all these expectations of looking perfect effect both the person who posts them and those who see it.” Berry said.

Krasnow said what’s missing in today’s social media usage is the feeling of choice. According to him, most students that go to counseling sessions at ASU report that they seek approval or validation from social media. They post because they want someone to acknowledge them.

“Intentional use of social media is what we’re after, instead of focusing on what they’re saying, we should focus on what we want to say,” Krasnow said. “We should work on increasing our feeling of choice in social media posts.”

Social media in a professional setting

According to the non-scientific survey done on several ASU students, social media should be focused on what we want, but instead, 20 out of the 26 students who were interviewed said they usually plan their posts in advance, just in case a future employer ends up viewing their profiles.

“An online persona can be a form of online branding. They should be thoughtful about how they construct that image, particularly in more public settings.” Halavais said.

Ronald O'Donnell, a clinical professor at the College of Health Solutions from ASU, believes the real challenge when it comes to social media is to “find ways to educate students on recognizing the signs of unhealthy social media use” and offer education and skills to help them use social media in a more balanced manner.

“Today's college students grew up with social media. It is ingrained in their lifestyle and relationships,” O’Donnell said. “Rather than prescribe discontinuation of social media, the focus should be on the positive use and benefits of social media combined with periods of engagement in other aspects of life that are realistic and desirable.”

Jessica Velasco (20), a Mexican lifestyle and fashion influencer thinks otherwise. Velasco believes that social media is the future of the new generations.

After experimenting with growth on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, Velasco believes that social media is allowing people to show who they are, without having to fall into the perfect image.

“I feel like everybody is trying to style themselves more comfortable with who they are. They are trying to find themselves more,” Velasco said. “And posting on social media has helped too since you don’t really feel the looks of people’s opinion about you.”

The future of social media

According to O’Donnell and Krasnow, social media can and hopefully will be used as a positive or normalized routine in our daily lives. From LGBTQ+ to racial, ethnic, or other social groups, social media has certainly encouraged students to express who they are wherever they are.

Twenty out of 26 interviewed students at ASU in a non-scientific survey believed there was still a chance that social media starts to have a positive impact on the community, and hope that one day they’ll be able to use social media to help their peers.

“Social media is a great way to obtain useful information from or to the world and helps keep millions feel connected. However, misinformation can spread fast, and controlling what everyone says and does defeat the purpose of ‘expressing yourself,’” said Kimberly Guzman (18), a criminal justice student at ASU. “So, can we find a balance between those two? Or are we doomed to keep living with the uncertainty of is social media good or bad?”