Trying to figure out who you are in college is already a process. Add social media, and it gets even more complicated. If we’re being honest, a lot of how we see ourselves doesn’t even come from us anymore, it comes from what we’re constantly looking at on our phones.
It’s easy to say social media is just entertainment, but after a while, it starts to shape how you think, how you compare yourself, and how you feel about your own life. You scroll for a few minutes, and suddenly it feels like everybody is doing more, looking better, and living better. Even if you know it’s not fully real, it still gets to you.
Ricardo Williams, a Florida A&M University student and social media influencer, said it’s something he sees from both sides. “People only post what they want you to see,” Williams said. “Even as somebody who creates content, I know there’s a difference between what’s posted and what real life actually looks like. But when you’re constantly consuming that, it’s easy to forget that.”
That’s really where the issue starts. It’s not just about what’s being posted, it’s about how often we see it. When your day starts and ends with social media, it slowly becomes the standard, even if it’s unrealistic.
Delya Harris, Miss Junior at FAMU, said that pressure is something a lot of people don’t talk about openly. “There’s definitely an expectation to always look put together or like you’re doing something exciting,” Harris said. “Even when you’re having a normal day, it can feel like that’s not enough because of what you’re used to seeing online.”
And that feeling builds over time. You start questioning things you normally wouldn’t—like how you look, what you’re doing, and whether you’re where you’re supposed to be. It turns into a quiet comparison that doesn’t really stop.
Channing Wyatt, a Presidential Ambassador at FAMU, said the biggest issue is how easy it is to measure yourself against something that isn’t even complete. “You’re comparing your everyday life to somebody else’s highlight reel,” Wyatt said. “And that’s never going to be a fair comparison, but people do it all the time without even realizing it.”
That’s what makes it unhealthy mentally. It’s not always obvious. It doesn’t feel like pressure at first—it just feels like scrolling. But over time, it affects how you think about yourself. It can make you feel like you’re behind, even when you’re actually doing just fine.
And the crazy part is, most people know this. Everybody knows social media isn’t real in the full sense. But knowing that doesn’t always stop its effect. You still see it, you still process it, and it still sticks with you.
At the same time, it’s not about completely cutting off social media. It’s more about being aware of how it’s influencing you and paying attention to what you’re consuming, and how it makes you feel. Because if something constantly makes you feel like you’re not enough, that’s something you have to check.
At the end of the day, social media isn’t the problem by itself—it’s how much power we give it. The more we let it define what’s normal or what’s valuable, the more it starts to shape how we see ourselves.
And that’s where the shift has to happen. Real life isn’t supposed to look like a perfectly edited post. It’s not supposed to be constant highlights. It’s regular, it’s imperfect, and it’s real, and honestly, that’s what makes it meaningful in the first place.
