Social media can be both positive and negative, somewhat controversial or not, and is different for everyone. It can unite and bond people from any country, culture, or background. Sometimes, it can be the epitome of humanity, where total strangers uplift each other and support one another regardless of distance, age, or culture; where love and respect ooze out of the hearts of individuals like soapy water from a sponge. It can be an escape route for those who may need it and, for others, it may provide the lift they didn’t know they needed in life — all from accidentally stumbling across an “explore” page.

However, I am not one in favor of social media. Most of the large platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok (to name a few) have users that are young, impressionable children who are still finding their way in life with many challenges and changes occurring, one being the onset of puberty. With social media, unrealistic and some may say “toxic” standards are set for these young people, whether it’s being a certain height, having a certain shape and physique, having a certain hair type, skin color — all superficial things, some may say, that suddenly become “appealing” and “attractive” and the latest “must have” for a not-insignificant percentage of an impressionable population. A few years ago, I almost became a victim to this toxicity, constantly comparing myself to my female peers and creating an idealistic and non-attainable version of what I aimed to be that I now know I could never come close to.

I used to suffer with mild acne, normal for adolescents, and put myself down when I didn’t have clear skin like girls I saw on Instagram or TikTok. Yet, over time, the images of social media have dimmed in my mind and I see that there is more to life than what is purely physical and focusing on what other people have, that I may want or desire. As cliché as it may sound, everyone is different and unique in their own way and is created in the way, I believe, God intended to design them.

Scrolling through TikTok, seeing a girl I knew of doing the “Buss it” challenge at the age of 14 or 15, confirmed the growing realization within my mind that social media has been hugely successful in desensitizing society. So successful, in fact, that minors are “educated” to believe the inappropriate to be appropriate. Thank you social media for facilitating females in their own degradation and for showing us how to let go of our self-respect! Is this girl power, social media? Is this making us free? Are you on a mission to make us independent? The very opposite, I suspect! Male-run social media sites and profit speak louder than a school-age girl, or a concerned mother, or even a KidSpirit article!

Social media is no substitute for a well formed God-given conscience.