Sitting in history class, I learn about slave trades and brutal racism, but as I leave my seat and open social media, I see we are right back where we started. So many people are blind to the harsh truth of our world, and we can’t keep using an oasis to describe the dystopian earth we know.
Browsing: Social Media
Sophomore wide receiver stands at around 450,000 Instagram followers. Despite his popularity and impressive recruiting profile, Williams wants to use his platform to inspire his audience.
Social media has also turned something natural, like wanting to feel accepted or a member of a community, into something quantitative. Followers, likes, comments and views can make belonging feel like a numbers game. Instead of just thinking about if we fit in with the people around us, we can compare how many people appear to care about us online.
In 2026, politicians no longer need a press conference, television interview or newspaper story to reach voters. With one post, they can deliver a message directly to millions of people — including young voters who increasingly encounter news online.
After the announcement by the UNEP that the planet will pass the global temperature rising limit set by the Paris Agreement, the internet turned around to declare that we’re all going to die. This mindset results in inaction and self-fulfilling prophecies, instead of actually encouraging people to help save what we can.
Ariana Grande’s body has been the hot topic for the last few months, as it is for most women celebrities, but the commentary isn’t as much focused on her body as it is on her ethics. Her apparent thinness has branded her a victim, a villain, a case to be analyzed, diagnosed, and ridiculed. Cruelty online is rampant; we all know this. But why?
Dr. Sarah Walden, director of the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core, researches BookTok and Bookstagram. She also teaches Remixing the BIC: Booktok, Literacy, and New Media, a BIC capstone course.
Outrage continues across social media platforms a week after Republican Railroad Commissioner candidate Bo French made a series of comments on Sept. 13 about students of color at a University of Texas football game, exposing a wider problem across Texas universities in combating racial discrimination on campus.
Sometimes finding yourself might require allowing the algorithm to get you wrong.
Dating used to be simple. Someone would ask you out, you’d go on a date then choose to take it somewhere or split as friends. But now, we have social media. Stop the investigations and bring back casual dating.
Social media, being the ever-changing medium, has fundamentally altered our lives and perceptions. The algorithm is always evolving and, in turn, evolving us: our identities and labels.
Many people don’t know what GLP-1 therapies were truly designed for and how the trend surrounding them has affected those who need them most. Pharmaceutical marketing has turned a legitimate medical treatment into a lifestyle product, leaving those who rely on these drugs without access.
A lack of reading in our country reflects more than the low literacy rates, but also the lack of understanding that drives the ever-growing economic, political and educational divides and high tensions that seem inescapable.
Nothing feels normal anymore. There is an underlying sexualization of everything, even though it is completely unnecessary. That’s the problem — people should be able to scroll through social media without suggestive content being forced on them.
We don’t need to reject technology or social media completely, but we do need to relearn where the line is and start acting as if it exists again. If everything becomes content, we all lose control of our own lives at some point.
America has always debated politics, but today it feels more divided than ever. When disagreement turns into distrust, what happens to unity?
In a time where only the tensest interactions between civilians and law enforcement are being distributed across the internet, Baylor’s Department of Public Safety is doing things differently. Lighthearted informational posts and staff bios fill the department’s social media feed, while donut giveaways and bracelet-making workshops fill the time between patrols.
In light of political unrest, celebrities speak out for those who can’t. But is speaking out at award shows the best way to do so?
The viral Adidas Tang jacket started a trend of incorporating traditional Chinese design features in modern fashion. However, it comes with a new wave of debate as to why Chinese culture is not being credited properly when selling Chinese-inspired clothing, creating complicated questions in balancing fleeting trends and true appreciation of culture.
Starting a conversation with someone you haven’t talked to in a while can be stressful, but more times than not, making the effort to send a small text results in a renewal of a connection.
Dr. Ed Rogers, assistant director, training director and senior psychologist for the Counseling Center, said too much exposure to negative news affects one’s mental health. These effects occur because the human brain struggles to distinguish between remote and current threats.
On social media platforms, Baylor showcases images of its beautiful campus, smiling students and graduate success stories, all reinforcing a promise of personal, academic and professional achievement. While these photos of perfection and happiness are a nice visual, they do not accurately reflect the stress and competitive nature many students, myself included, experience behind the scenes.
With the current digital age, social media usage continues to rise and seep into college campuses. The short-video format has been revealed to be the most addictive and equally the most harmful. Out of all the apps, TikTok takes the throne.
A Baylor freshman who ran an anonymous account posting videos of urinating on campus was identified by police and referred to Student Conduct on Sept. 26, according to the Baylor University Police Department. As of today, the university has confirmed the student is no longer enrolled at Baylor.
Despite the addictive nature of phones, there is a solution to the ever-consuming algorithm — a better way to educate oneself, to engage in critical thought and expand one’s worldview. I propose returning to the original form of entertainment, the humble paperback book.
Human interaction can’t compete with the dopamine spike that social media provides. The attention economy has made focus a rare commodity. Every app is engineered to pull us back in, fragmenting not just our time, but our relationships. Friendship now competes with algorithms designed to hijack our curiosity.
As censorship rises across American media and education, Dr. James Kendrick, the interim department chair of journalism and professor of film and digital media, warns that power and algorithms are shaping what ideas reach the public. From classrooms to social media feeds, he said the suppression of controversial topics limits critical thinking and open dialogue.
After 125 years of technological advancements and changes, The Lariat remains in print. Over 50 years after his tenure as editor-in-chief ended, Moore said he still reads The Lariat.
“The conversations that we had and the answers that they gave — it seems trivial, it seems silly, but it really got them thinking,” Sweet said. “There were great teaching moments, there were great just personality moments that we got to interact with students. Anytime you can do something outside the classroom, it makes it so much [more] freeing and so much more exciting that way.”
Despite conflicting perspectives on the Tea app’s implications, it continues to draw attention and engagement from male and female students alike at Baylor.
