By Ashlyn Beck | News Editor
Social media users say the key to using it is authenticity and honesty.
Elizabeth Bates, assistant professor in the journalism department, teaches a class at Baylor called Social Media for Strategic Communication. Bates said one of the biggest topics they discuss is how to use social media professionally, specifically from a public relations standpoint.
While the class uses social media as a professional tool, students should also be aware of some of its dangers, according to Bates.
“There is research to show that there is a link between self image and social media use,” Bates said. “[Self image is] your thoughts about who you are, how you look, and that’s based on a lot of different things, including what you’re seeing and what you’re exposed to on social media.”
The danger isn’t just warped body image as a result of Photoshop and airbrushing, but a funhouse mirror image of people’s lives. Many refer to social media as someone’s “highlight reel,” which just shows the best parts of someone’s life and invites comparison.
A lot of the effect on self image comes from the fact that social media is not necessarily honest. Whether it’s personal or professional accounts, things are edited so that it looks perfect. According to Bates, it skews the users’ sense of reality.
“[If you] remind yourself it isn’t real and temper your thoughts… then that can take a little bit of the power away from it, but it definitely still does have an influence,” Bates said.
Baylor alumna Katie Bradshaw is now a social media ambassador for Liquid IV and a masters student at New York University. Bradshaw uses social media professionally, but also personally, describing it as a fun pastime and an escape.
Working very closely with social media has forced her to reevaluate her relationship with it, according to Bradshaw. She has to now be much more intentional about reminding herself of the dangers and being authentic on social media platforms.
“A lot of the time when it comes to social media and how it affects you as a person, it’s comparison,” Bradshaw said. “As women, that’s something that I feel like happens to most of us when we go on social media.”
Though she falls into this trap from time to time like everyone else, Bradshaw focuses on how she has grown and become a better person, which she can see through her social media, rather than comparing it to others online.
“At the end of the day, I’m human. Sometimes I’m going to see things on TikTok and be like, ‘Oh, wow. I wish I looked like her, or I wish I was as smart as this person,’ but that’s just human nature,” Bradshaw said.
Another issue proliferating the self image problems associate with social media is its addictive nature. Bates said it might be helpful to set limits.
Bradshaw said her biggest goal is to keep it authentic. According to Bradshaw, the transition to school at Baylor was a hard one for her, but people probably wouldn’t guess how hard it was by looking at her social media.
Bradshaw said she tries to be as honest as possible with people about her transition and some of the difficulties that came from it.
“If I know I’m being authentic with what I’m doing, then I know that I’m [putting] my best foot forward to help encourage younger people that might be seeing my content,” Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw said that a big step on that journey is becoming comfortable with yourself — Then, the desire to compare your life with others’ isn’t as tempting.
“Just loving myself and every day waking up and saying, ‘I’m here for a reason’ and becoming a better version of myself, in turn, helps me not want to compare myself as much even though sometimes, of course, I fall victim to it,” Bradshaw said.
Though it has its pitfalls, Bradshaw finds good in social media even just in personal use. Bradshaw uses it as a sort of scrapbook and said it helps her to see how far she’s come in the last few years.
It also brings together people from different places, according to Bates. Social media platforms can help people find others with similar interests and even form relationships across continents.
“The biggest benefit of social media is being able to engage with people in the community who are important to your organization and creating awareness and understanding [about] where they’re coming from,” Bates said.
When using social media, Bates and Bradshaw said it’s most important to be honest and authentic. From a professional standpoint, it’s essential that what someone is advertising is actually accurate. From a personal standpoint, it’s a disservice to others when someone is dishonest about their life on social media.
“I feel like there’s always room to be more vulnerable, and there’s always room to be more authentic,” Bradshaw said.
