Editor’s note: Julia Crossen is a 17-year-old junior at Monte Vista Christian School. We want to hear from other young people. Email ed****@********an.com
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Books today hold exciting stories with deep messages you can’t find scrolling social media.
Social media consumes all of our time and devours our attention span. All this time being spent on social media is not only bad for our mental well being, but also corrupts our thoughts and ideas because of the way things can be edited, manipulated, and how information can be withheld.
Social media alters our mindset unhealthily in endless ways, whether that be from editing photos, withholding the truth, comparison and insecurity or the power to spread corrupt, false ideas to our young minds. When you read, you get a form of escapism and insight into another person’s life that does not revolve around comparison or an attempt to become them or like them.
Instead of developing an idol in the people we follow online, we learn to support strong, driven characters in the stories we read, through the good and the bad parts of their life.
Toxic topics are romanticized on social media, which puts unhealthy ideas in our heads as consumers of this content. On social media, people have the opportunity to edit their photos and romanticize certain parts of their life or certain topics that hide us from the truth of the world.
When on social media, we idolize influencers or content creators who share content based on their lifestyle. These lifestyle ambassadors capitalize on that lifestyle only, withholding the parts that aren’t as pretty. Following an influencer who is supposed to teach us to be productive, beautiful, or smart, we only see posts about certain parts of their life that are productive, smart, and beautiful.
This selective way of posting leads us to have unrealistic expectations of living. Books show the characters through thick and thin, whether in fantasy, romance, sci-fi, mystery, dystopian, etc.
These books hold valuable life lessons through exciting stories you can escape in. Book series like “Throne of Glass” by Sarah J. Maas is an exciting fantasy series but also has an underlying message of how small acts of kindness every day can create a ripple effect that can change the course of history.
Or “Boys of Tommen” which touches on real-life topics that inform readers of mental illness, family relationships, abuse, trauma, addiction, bullying, grief and other important topics of life people typically hide on social media. We learn about these topics through lovable characters and an endearing story.
These books show the good and bad of life and teach readers how to combat certain situations. We can learn from these books by reading about the full journey of these characters instead of believing the snippets of “real life” we see through the posts of popular influencers.
Social media on its own is very dangerous. When young minds are learning about the world, especially when going through rough situations, it is common for them to see social media posts that sooth their emotionally driven thoughts, so instead of learning and growing in a way we often can through reading classical literature, they find themselves in toxic mindsets. Social media challenges us with a lot of contradicting ideas with nothing factual to back up the statement being made. In a world full of edited photos, books are the rawness we need to be able to combat life. There is no hiding the truth in a book written to empower. Social media teaches us to care for others’ opinions and aim for certain aesthetics that we don’t truly want for ourselves. It teaches us that we should hold these unattainable standards for our lives that are unhealthy.
In high school, my peers and myself only post parts of our lives that are “worthy.” Whether it be a fun vacation or a cute mirror selfie, none are the raw version of life you can only find in books.
Influencers who promote self help, fitness and productivity are great, but they also typically don’t show the parts of life where you take a break. This can form unhealthy habits in us, which has happened to me personally before. The less glamorous parts of living need to be recognized as well, but these topics don’t fit with the influencer persona. These crazy standards also make it seem impossible for some people so they never give it a shot. Books hold stories with characters just like us who struggle through the thick and thin of life. You get every perspective of living, the dull, the glamorous, the ugly. You see not only the actions characters take but the outcome of them.
Each book has an intentional message they are teaching readers to make them more open-minded, instead of attempting to glorify something or someone, which is often the case with social media. Authors write with a purpose to convey a message to the reader that is beneficial to them, whereas social media’s message is to glorify the person posting.
Overall, books should be occupying our time more than scrolling other people’s posts. Especially for developing young minds who can learn from the wrong people. Most books popularized today have encouraging messages that are critical for everyone to learn in a lifetime. In reading we get to escape into a new world while learning how to live on our own. Instead of developing idols in influencers who reveal snippets of their lives, it’s important to learn from the powerful characters written about in the books. The characters have taught me to be stronger, to be kind, how to handle emotion, how to handle and recognize certain mental health issues, trauma and abuse, taught me about global issues, helped me explore parts of the world I have never been to, and so much more.
The possibilities are endless.
