With an IPhone six plus in hand and ear buds in his ears a De Anza student scrolled through his Instagram application to pass the time before his next class.
Truong Do, 24, a fourth-year computer informations system major at De Anza says he is highly critical of himself because of social media like Instagram.
“I feel like I have to be fashionable, fit and wealthy because of the stuff I see on Instagram,” said Do.
Do like many college students around the nation are feeling a greater pressure to be successful socially. According to a Jul. 21 story posted on Huffington Post social media pushes college students to engage in competitive comparisons among peers.
Do said he follows fitness pages and men's fashion pages on Instagram in order to “keep up with what is trending” among people his age.
Inez Rozen, 19, a second-year psychology major at De Anza said she sometimes feels imperfect because she doesn’t know who is judging her on social media.
“I don’t know what people's expectations of me are online, which make me more critical of myself,” said Rozen.
According to the Huffington Post story by Riley Griffin a Duke University student said that students have become more detached from their peers and spend less time socializing.
Five out of five students at De Anza believe that they have become detached from their peers. They all said they used their phones to avoid talking to people especially classmates they didn’t know.
Bryan Gutierrez, 19, a second-year undecided major student at De Anza said he uses applications like Facebook and Instagram before class starts because everyone around him is usually on their phones.
“ I use my phone when no one is saying anything around me to make the situation less awkward,” said Gutierrez.
The Huffington Post story brought in expert advice from Dr. Anne Marie Albano on the issue of anxiety and related disorders, Dr.Albano said that social media acts as a counterfeit reality for students who are unable to cope with their circumstances.
Three out of five De Anza students said they never felt anxiety or depressed because of social media however they did say they used social media to release stress.
Michelle Figarella, 19, a third-year Kinesiology major at De Anza said that she is not attached to social media but she does use it to stay distracted when she needs to.
“ I use social media for as long as I need to when I am stressed, watching videos on YouTube or Facebook help me get my mind of things,” said Figarella.
Contrary to the three De Anza students who use social media to release stress Gutierrez and Emma Cochrane, 27, a communications major student at De Anza said they would rather avoid social media or use their hobbies to release stress.
“ I don’t go on social media when I am stressed because I get frustrated with the dumb things some people post,” said Gutierrez. “ I can understand why some people get depressed.”
Cochrane said there's so many things to do to relieve stress that she doesn’t need social media.
“ I watch Television, climb or do outdoor activities to relieve stress,” said Cochrane. “Social media has done a good job at setting social norms but we shouldn’t limit ourselves to them.”
Personality Quiz: How Much Does the Media Affect Your Life.
Comment your own social media stories and how you relate to the story.
“ I watch Television, climb or do outdoor activities to relieve stress,” said Cochrane. “Social media has done a good job at setting social norms but we shouldn’t limit ourselves to them.”
Comment your own social media stories and how you relate to the story.
