You have one. Each of your friends has one. These days, your grandma may even have one. Since its launch in February 2004, Facebook profiles have become increasingly more common among individuals of all ages, and for a good reason. The mainstream social media platform provides users with an accessible means of sharing information with others instantly.
Although Facebook reaps its share of benefits, the site is not helpful for everyone. The tendency to constantly view others’ profiles can produce psychologically damaging effects in users who do so. This harmful trend occurs in a variety of age groups, but the majority of affected users are adolescent and college-age individuals. The creation of Facebook profiles has become a widespread phenomenon within this age group, causing many students to spend adequate amounts of their free time both personalizing their own profiles and viewing the profiles of their peers. As college women, we are especially susceptible to this form of online exposure. Facebook is a great social tool, but it is important to recognize the harm it can cause if used incorrectly.
Facebook allows users to present their lives to the public in any way they want. Individuals can select and post only their most attractive images or edit photos to hide their physical imperfections. Taking, sharing, and tagging photos on Facebook has become one of the most common methods used to showcase social lives online. As college women, it is common and normal to enjoy posting photos that present us as popular, productive, adventurous, or fun. A study abroad experience or a weekend trip with friends is the perfect event to document and share through social media. It is important to realize that these pictures commonly depict users having ‘the time of their lives while failing to show us the reality of the situation. Many users make a point to post photos featuring the exciting and attractive aspects of their lives, while excluding the photos in which they believe their physical appearance or social status is less than satisfactory.
Status updates have also become tools for creating a positive public identity. Facebook users can customize their posts to emphasize, and often exaggerate, the excitement in their lives. People do not usually post statuses exposing information about their parents’ separation, their cheating boyfriend, or the loneliness they feel in college. As a result, viewers only see the positive aspects of the lives of others on Facebook.
This issue can occur in any Facebook user, but the problem has become increasingly common in college atmospheres. As a UNCW student, I observe the occurrence of this issue on a daily basis. I see peers scrolling through the Facebook profiles of others at the library and on their laptops in class. Smartphones have only supported this tendency to constantly view Facebook profiles and news feeds. By continuously exposing ourselves to these inaccurate portrayals of others, we are more likely to view our own lives as boring or uneventful in comparison.
I have heard again and again from countless people that the college years are the “best years of your life.” It is true that the college experience fits this description for some people, but for many, college is a time filled with loneliness, stress, or self-doubt. When individuals who are struggling with these problems see the ramped-up profiles of their peers, they may incorrectly assume that they are the ‘odd-ball out’ and that they are the only ones unengaged in the perceived social whirlwind of college.
We need to stop assuming that the lives of other UNCW students are as fun, eventful, or glamorous as they appear online. In reality, Facebook profiles can be just as misleading as the airbrushed models we see in magazines.