10/22/19
Each of these weekly newsletters has been based on information from Ana Homayoun’s book Social Media Wellness: Helping Tweens and Teens Thrive in an Unbalanced Digital World. As I continue to share from this book, we will address five effects social media has on Generation Z (those born between 1995-2010). Over the coming weeks, I will explore each of the five areas more. The five effects are:
Altered Expectations
Mixed Messages
Information Overload
An “on all of the time” mentality
An “all about the likes” mentality
The first effect is altered expectations. Social media alters the expectations of our teens by making them feel like they are never good enough, smart enough, strong enough, well-liked enough, or successful enough. So how does this happen? Well, these altered expectations are many times brought on by the online comparison culture.
For example, when students get their ACT scores it is natural for them to ask their friends what they got and compare. Now with social media, there are literally tens of thousands of people to compare to. A student can go from being proud of his or her score, to feeling overwhelmed and not good enough. Because of social media, everyone’s results are at our students' fingertips. In so many ways, students compare their own work to others and there is always a chance someone could be doing it better or faster. Students are then tempted to internalize the comparison of the results, feeling they no longer measure up to expectations.
People have always tried to “keep up with the Joneses.” However, in the past, the Joneses lived down the street; now, they live anywhere in the world and because of social media, we see their highlight reel every day. It’s easy to get caught in the trap, feeling like we are never good enough.
All of this comparison through social media leads to more anxiety and an altered level of unrealistic expectations. “These altered expectations can also unintentionally contribute to what famed researcher Carol Dweck terms a “fixed mindset,” which is the underlying belief that our intelligence and ability is fixed and immutable” (Homayoun, 2018, p. 60). Students see the achievements of their peers on social media and decide they can never be that successful, finding themselves in a fixed mindset with little ambition to attempt improvement.
We want our teens to have a growth mindset and believe in their potential and possibility. Therefore, we must help them fight these altered expectations by helping them recognize the dangers of comparison and refocus their energy on working to achieve their best, not someone else’s.
As we continue to explore the effects of social media on our students, I encourage you to talk with your teen about them. Together, discover whether or not they are experiencing these effects.
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Thunder Connection 10/1/19 - Managing and Prioritizing Tasks
Thunder Connection 9/24/19 - Choosing a Time and a Place
Thunder Connection 9/17/19 - Why Write it Down?
Thunder Connection 9/10/19 - Social Media and Five Things Most Teens Want
