What do you wish you knew about social media?

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I often hear adults sharing their worries for the generations of kids growing up in the age of social media—but I rarely get the chance to hear how these young people themselves are dealing with it. So when I saw this article, featuring college students sharing what they wish they had known when they first went online, it really got me thinking. 

Here’s their top advice for healthy social media use:

  • Don’t take it too seriously!
  • Remember, you don’t have to share everything. Most people’s social media is just a highlight reel of their life, not a true picture of how they live.
  • Beware of addictive or unhealthy social media habits. Set up time limits and take “detox” time away from your phone. Here’s a quick how-to for Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
  • Discover your passions outside of social media. Use it as a tool to learn from, but keep in mind that a lot of it isn’t real.
  • Set boundaries to avoid harmful content (or users!). 

It’s so cool to hear what a generation that has grown up with smartphones and a constant stream of notifications has learned about managing a healthy social media presence. 

Share in the comments: What do you wish you knew about social media when you first went online?

Comments

  • The bots need to go! Our freedom of speech is constantly being monitored and is getting jeopardized. Things that should be taken down aren’t, and things that are harmless such as sharing an animal that’s on a euthanasia list, gets taken down.
    I also don’t like seeing parents use phones and tablets as babysitters. In a restaurant it’s a golden opportunity to interact with your child and today’s parents just don’t seem to get it. Instead I see parents and their small children sitting on electronics. This is all time that these parents will never get back. No wonder why these kids are turning out so rotten.

  • R. CARTER-WINSTON

    Step into my digital time machine and let’s travel back to the wild wild west of social media, where AIM, MySpace, and AOL ruled the land. I’ve got some wisdom to share with my past self, so grab a snack and let’s get started! First, privacy settings are like the secret ingredient in your favorite recipe – know them like the back of your hand. Remember, everything you post, comment, or click leaves a digital footprint, so be mindful of your online shenanigans. Treat others online as you would in person, and don’t believe everything you read on the internet – not everything is gospel, my friend. Lastly, social media can be addictive, so pace yourself and don’t get too caught up in the rabbit hole. Now, go forth and conquer the world of social media, young grasshopper!

  • It’s a blessing and a curse because people could find lost loved ones they haven’t seen in a long time. But at the same time we have to watch out for scammers and not share so much of ourselves just for likes. It’s sad to also see people out on their phone on social media posting everything they do with loved ones instead of enjoying your loved ones and putting the phone away.

  • SM is like a double edge sword. It brings negativity as well as positivity. SM has become the voice of people. However, I feel that its impact is more on the negative than positive. It lies, it promotes negative content leaving many feeling inferior to many. I don’t think that I have any wishes to know anything about media before it took off. It was almost a given that SM would be bring negative impact to the society.

  • I wish I had known that social media would be so additive and to be careful what you put out about yourself, family, friends, ect. I know from experience when MySpace came out I would put my personal business on line and everyone would know you’re business. Today I’m a very private gal. I hardly do social media I do have a Facebook acct but only get on it maybe and that a big maybe once every three to four weeks at a time. I’d rather play my Spider than go on Facebook. Now that’s my addiction the games and the play-store. Thanks

  • I think, in the beginning it was all exciting and promising- and in our days it turned out to be very competitive and dangerous.
    People learned how to manipulate others, using Social Media. The humanity is turning into real ROBOTS, rather than humans…

    Stay away from the Social Media, if you don’t have any clue about the reality of life!

  • I wish I knew about how easy it is to be scammed or hacked. Worse have your identity stolen. I stay out of alot of social media for this reason.

  • Children are so easily influenced and the same with being a crutch for busy single parents. There are pros & cons and when there are no boundaries set up to steer them in the right direction any kind of technology is too much if there is 24/7 access without limitations

  • To be honest, I was scared to use it or put any information out there. I just had a MySpace and I don’t even remember what I put on there, but I don’t think it was a lot. I don’t think I put anything on it. I was way too.

  • Amberlynne Eimers

    Honestly…. Whatever you post online, cAn always be found. You can’t delete it entirely… And comments can cause castasropic consequences… For the person posting it, to the one being talked about. Social media is a distraction to the way the world is suppose to be. Divide and conquer, when an actuality we’re all supposed to be one.

  • I wished I could tell if people was real or computer generated, because that way you would not get scammed

  • Not to use my real name, location, and age.
    The weirdos and scrammers look for that information to find a target.

  • I wish I knew how it could be used against you, how your thoughts and feelings get twisted to sound different from what you actually say, how it can be used to steal your identity, threats of bullying, etc! Also though how it can be a vital tool in some cases also! Relocating, finding lost pets, helping others in need, finding help when you need it also, getting ideas from others for crafting or diy projects, making new friends, etc. There’s good and bad social media thoughts everywhere you turn. Really though just like in everyday life you just have to be careful putting to much in the open! Only post what you wouldn’t mind a stranger knowing about you, and never put your info or to many photos of you or your family especially minors! You can make them targets unknowingly!!

  • I wish I knew how much of a digital trail it left behind. Once you post things it may come back to haunt you. All of a sudden employers started looking at your profile. I wish I would have never posted my political beliefs. I lost a lot of friends last election. They were all MAGA supporters and insisted the election was stolen. Since then, I only go on Facebook maybe twice a week. Now I have friends upset because I don’t know what’s going on in their lives. When they could actually pick up the phone and call me up. The more time I spend away from social media platforms. The better I feel about life. All the people that post “prayers needed” but won’t tell you what for. Makes no sense to me. If I am going to pray to God or the Universe to help them. Kinda need to know what for?..however my husband still fills me in. He is on it daily. He let’s me know who’s in the hospital and who is in divorce court this week.

  • I find myself scrolling mostly. I’ve always been drawn to the internet and still love to unplug. I wish I would have known what a circus it was going to turn out to be. I think more awareness is needed for how parents can help set and maintain healthy boundaries both for themselves and to safeguard their children. I miss the simple days of quick knowledge and a ‘fast’ connection.

  • The first thing I wished id known is that it does not validate me or my existence, secondly that it’s a tool and lastly to be on the edge learning how it’ll grow and capitalize on it.

  • I wish I had known that a lot of it is not true and that i had not put my name on a lot of things like this is free if you just leave your name and information we will send you free gifts example washing powder or make up products lol

  • I wish I knew then that social media isn’t someone’s life story. It’s just the ” special” moments that people usually post. Just lk YouTube where the family’s play with the kids and video it . Well I had to explain to my son that they only play like that for the videos. When they are off camera the kids go play on their own. They don’t play with them like that 24-7 because that’s what he was thinking. And then I was a ” bad mom ” if I wasn’t playing with him 24-7. Social media is very impressionable to young minds. It’s so addictive in had to delete TikTok because I wasn’t getting ANYTHING done through out the day.

  • I like it in terms of keeping in contact with family… If it wasn’t for that I’d say I wish I never got one to begin with simply because my kids wouldn’t want one… Being that children misuse it to bully etc… However on the other hand they’d still find out about the platforms from other students unfortunately… Personally for me, Im very private on social media and I always have been so can’t say social media itself is bad… It’s the ones that choose to misuse the platforms… I also have limited it too… It’s not my go to… I have my own life to focus on… Not everyone elses…

  • Honeslty I wish there was NO way of creating fake profiles and this AI profiles bots thing needs to GO!!

  • I wish I knew how addictive it could be plus having people think they have to look a certain way and how depressing it could actually be when you read other people stories and you have nun of that going for urself can put you into depression.

  • I wish I knew then that there’s people out there that are scammers and websites that are scammers and that anything goes on the internet, you think you may be talking to somebody, but without actually seeing them visually, you don’t know who you’re really talking to so my advice is. Just talk to people back-and-forth, like we used to do face-to-face and make sure that whatever you say is to the person that you know it’s getting to, don’t put your information out there. There’s so many scammers that take advantage of your. Thank you counts and they scam you for your identity.And it’s a horrible, horrible situation to get out of once you have been, your identity has been stolen, so please be careful on the internet.Don’t ever take it for what it says.It is because it’s not true none of it is true

  • Well, the time that I remember that ATM and my space and Facebook first came out with all the internet, things that just changed and everything on my time ’cause I was born in the 1980s, basically revolutionized the whole entire world and the internet. Change for the better AOL was almost just dial up internet. And now they don’t have that anymore. They have high-speed internet and social media change so fast that it made your head spin. With all this new technology in everything and basically things do change over time. And it goes for the better not the worst. Unless you make it that way.

  • I wish I knew how much people hide what is really going on in their lives and manufacture a false image. I used to be addicted to scrolling on Facebook. I have learned to put it in its place. I only check once a day now. I feel like it’s made my life less stressful.

  • I wish i knew how much drama it can cause and how it destroys relationships and ends marriages. I wish i knew about how people use it as a way to steal your identity and how to watch out for scams. On a positive note i wish i knew how much information you can get on just about everything and how many groups on all subjects you can join and talk with people of same interests and how many people are going through hard times but find ways to get through it or needing suggestions for a better solution to issues that pop up by surprise and that by reading the comments on posts can be so much more helpful if u dont understand the post.Always read comments because you can get more out of people’s comments that have experience with the topic and avoid any trouble.

  • I was an OG when it came to social media. My friends and I were on an actual BBS (that’s Bulletin Board System for you younger folks) and it was amazing once we could have multiple people online at the same time. Originally, only one person could log in at a time, so you’d make your post in a forum, log out, and hope someone had replied to you by the time you logged in next. We never thought it would be like things are today.

  • I see social media as cutting edge, and I would like to pursue a career in social media.Each listed reason to limit social media being valid but, the fact is social media does exactly what it was created for, networking. I am from a small town, I understand the importance of networking.
    The fact is each individual must develop self confidence, hobbies outside networking from social media. As time moves forward it will be clear how to grow healthy people with social media as a major part of life.

  • When I was younger, I wish I had known how open the platforms were. They are just straight up open to the world. When my daughter got her first few phones, I very much made sure all of the parental settings were active. As a child, she did not need to know how explicit some of those people can be.

  • I wish i knew of more about scammers and how it happened to me. I also wish i knew about time limitations and how phone, media all need time limits.

  • I wish I knew don’t put everything on social media or tell people everything because they aren’t really your friend

  • Social media is a great big world of learning but also for preditors. I wish I knew that when I first had AOL and Myspace

  • Dorothy Prestenbach

    I don’t like it much because it keeps families from being together and playing games and having meals together

  • Social media is not the same today as it used to be social media has many different perspectives which were not present when it first came out I think the main purpose of social media was to bring together social order and conduct to connect everyone socially online, however, it made people antisocial in the present moment in their lives and in their communities Social media served the purpose today the algorithms are different. We have AI and we have so many different platforms of technology that know what you’re thinking and what you’re liking and what you’re posting and what you’re sharing and it has the ability to keep showing you what your purpose and your passion is, if you only focus on what your passion is , and not dwell other peoples passions and purpose you will create your own social content, social media for making it possible for those who are dreaming to live the dream and thank you social media for not giving up and bringing the communities together both near and far focus on the growth focus on the good focus on God focus on yourself do what you love and social media will show you what your passion is. God shows you what your purposes everything is part of God’s plan live your life you plan by trusting God’s plan thank you.

  • I wish social media was more secure. Had i known more when i started using it I probably would not have. Everything is so public even though you try to do your part to be private your information is still out there. Jobs have been lost, relationships have been ruined, mental health has been affected, crimes have taken place all because of social media. I would avoid it and would suggest to everyone to do the same

  • I think the education about social media and the side effects it has on the whole entire family is not nearly invested in or exposed, and I think that money should be raised and awareness should be raised that young children not have cell phone and or be using social media because of obvious dangers

  • Parent of daughters

    I hate the fact that these predators have such easy access to these kids that are reeled in by words read online. Not knowing who is on the other end. I had an incident with one of my children who a person of the “military” was trying to get a meet up. And I tried all I could calling and reporting. Thank God nothing happened to her. But how many of our loves have not been so lucky. Social media is full of stalkers, and all they say is to block them. By that time, they have already gotten your information and or close to it.

  • How addictive it can be. I find myself on it for hours and don’t realize until I’m off of it. But I love going on Instagram. It has some informative things.

  • The addictiveness on all the social media accounts and how easy it is to feel safe. In no time you are tell total strangers very personal things. You think they are friends someone you “know” not understanding that you have no clue who you are talking to. But I wish I would have studied to work in the tech field, there I could have made money.

  • I wish I knew how addictive It could be. I love the fact that I can keep in touch with friends from around the United States otherwise, I don’t think I would also like pictures because I feel like it is documentation of life for me.

  • Elizabeth Pflugfelder

    I totally agree. Social media is very harmful to everybody not only children but adults as well. It gives you a false positive. Gives you power to do anything if you know exactly what you’re doing. You can do anything with the social media problem is is that people aren’t using their common sense that they were born with People just go on about their business social media is everything to a lot of people and unfortunately, our children have to suffer for that just opinion

  • I wish I knew about the scammers and predators. I remember so many people trying to scam me out of money either by flirting or by selling something. Now everything is flagged and it is so much harder for them to make it through to me. Plus I’m more aware now.

  • I wish I knew how addictive it is & how isolating it can be. Real bait and switch that is extremely difficult to quit.

  • I agree with Angel. I hate that kids are so addictive to social media. I mean, really young kids have tablets and stuff. And they get upset if you tell them that they can’t have it. Like the cannot entertain themselves with out it. It’s a sad world that we live in

  • That some parents would use it as a tool to babysit their children. This angers me because so many children are being left behind academically as well as socially. Just as many bad habits are on social media there are some healthy ones. Tap into learning tools for children an adolescents, if you believe in God teach them by attending a Church service online. Whatever you decide use social media for future benefits that will aid in a lifelong learning experience.

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