BWW Blog: Back to School - The Age of Instagram

Freshman year of college is challenging and you know what? That's ok! It is so difficult in our generation of Instagram and Snapchat to think that if you are struggling to adjust to the college lifestyle there is something wrong with you, but I am here to assure you that it is totally normal to struggle.

I mean when you think about it logically, of course it is going to be a difficult adjustment: for most kids it is their first time living away from home, being with completely new people in a new environment- that is not an easy situation to just be thrown into! What makes it even harder in this day and age is the constant media being pushed in our faces of friends from high school that appear to be thriving already after only a few weeks.

The truth is though, kids only do that because they want to try and prove something to everyone from high school- that they went to college and right away everyone loved them and they had no trouble at all finding friends and all the best parties to go to. However, the truth is for most kids the pictures are just that: pictures, and they do not accurately depict the experience they may be having adjusting to college. I even found myself guilty of that at times: posting a cute picture I took with a new friend and sharing it as if I had the best night of my life, when the reality was I left the party after fifteen minutes.

This is not meant to scare you because you will eventually adjust and you will go to these parties with the people you find to be true friends and have an amazing time, but this is just to tell you that if you are not having the time of your life right off the bat that is totally ok and in fact, it's normal!

We all feel so much pressure to document our lives in a series of snapchat stories and instagram posts so of course we want to try and portray our lives as amazing and fun, but the problem with that is it can be disillusioning because the reality is life is not always amazing and fun. Big changes in your life, like moving to college, can be hard and confusing and the need you may feel to show others you are happy can make it even more confusing.

My advice to incoming college freshman is if you need to, take a break from social media. I promise you that it will be ok and it will still be there when you decide you are ready to go back to it. If you find yourself obsessing over what your next instagram post is going to be or spending hours trying to think of what the best caption will be to show people you are doing well in college then it may be time for you to take a step back and assess your relationship to social media.

Don't get me wrong social media can be wicked fun and it is a great way to share all the cool things you will do in college, but if it becomes something stressful in your life you don't owe it to anyone to consistently post about what you are doing. It is important to remember that your health comes first and if social media is hindering you from being the best and happiest version of you there is no need to hesitate to take a break!