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Despite their love for social media, students always have a fear of being judged
By: Madden McCallum
Social media is an amazing platform for teens, as it is a way for them to communicate with others, post photos of themselves, and to have something to scroll through when they are bored. But it may be too good to be true. What no one sees is you comparing yourself to others’ most recent posts, wishing you were on vacation where they were, or wishing you had the outfit they were wearing. Seeing photos of your friends hanging out without you and feeling FOMO. Is social media all sunshine and rainbows, or are there hidden secrets behind every post?
Social media is always going to be used as there are many positives to it. However, the student body at DHS believes social media has some negatives to it as it causes them to compare themselves to others. For many, it is that they want to be a certain person and live their life. It is that they wish they would have thought of that idea first or that they’re going to get judged if they post something.
“I don’t post that much on social media because I think people are going to judge me,” junior Alena Blumberg said.
Adding that she only posts on homecoming because she knows no one can judge her about posting, as everyone posts on homecoming. Sophomore Aspen Taylor agrees. “I don’t post a lot on social media because I don’t want any unperfect photos of me,” Taylor said. Even though some students believe social media leads to them feeling judged for what they post, some students at DHS don’t think about people judging them and don’t feel pressure to post all the time.
The opinions of DHS students vary, so there doesn’t seem to be a concrete “right or wrong” answer as if comparison due to social media is an issue at DHS. Most students interviewed believed it wasn’t Despite their love for social media, students always have a fear of being judged the comparison to others that was the issue. It was the fear of being judged for a post on their platform, whether that be an Instagram post a TikTok, or a Snapchat story. This fear has a name: Visiobibiophobia. After telling the students about this term, they believe their fears match up with the phobia in some ways. Students aren’t always focusing on this but they feel this fear right after they post while everyone is liking the post and commenting on it. The fear of posting on social media is rooted in believing the fear of criticism and fear of failure.
