IN THIS ISSUE:
Movement is Medicine: A Lifelong Journey of Body Image and Fitness
Q and A with Jillian Riegle and Gianna Green
“I love the way I can shape perception and appeal with the perfect filter, angle, and caption - and building a brand is my little marketing-loving heart’s dream”
I dialed 911 at 7 am this morning. Accidentally, of course. I rolled over on top of my phone in my sleep (after falling asleep scrolling through Instagram while listening to the newest Crime Junkie episode). Talk about a wake up call!
Naturally, I panicked. After confirming I hadn’t indeed invited the Grand Rapids Police over to my home for an early morning coffee and donuts, I breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately began my normal morning routine.
A shower? Breakfast? Morning devotional or reflection, you might ask?
Of course not. I spent the first 20 minutes of my day checking all 4 Instagram accounts I run, scrolling through my cousins latest tik toks (& marveling at how a 17 year old can have 44k followers), and scrolling through Facebook to see how many engagements, weddings, and babies happened in my social circle in the last 24 hours (yeah, at 25, it’s not an “if” anymore a it’s a “how many”. Sorry to break it to ya.)
Now, don’t get me wrong. Since I was first allowed to get a Facebook in 8th grade, I have been fascinated with social media. Through college, I posted almost every single day on Instagram - artsy iPhone 5C photos, memories from Kappa date parties, track meets, and CHPs. I even started my own cringy “Hillsdale” Instagram - @hillsdale_studentlife, and photography account - @lifeoutsidethelines. LOL - they’re both deleted; don’t try to find them.
I also took to Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, & Vine (the O.G. Tik Tok for all you babies out there) - I’m a type 4, so self-expression is my THING. Other than my mom constantly nagging me for being on my phone too much, I never really saw it as a problem. Get with the times, boomer- am I right? (Mom, please don’t kill me!)
I think the glass first shattered for me around my junior year, when the first anonymous platform came out (Yik Yak - aka the O.G. Jodel). Not shockingly, it started out hilarious, serving hot takes on all things Dale. But over time, like all interactions hidden behind a screen, things started to take a turn. People started attacking each other either passively or VERY directly, to the point where it was dividing our campus (especially women). Girls were being “ranked” against each other, teams being compared based on their attractiveness... it was overtly disgusting and objectifying, and yet - it mattered to a lot of us. Thankfully, Yik Yak died over the summer that year, and I could finally take down my aggressive tweet about cowardly men on campus objectifying women (yikes, 20 year old Al).
Since then, It’s been a little easier to see social media without the rose colored glasses. Do I still enjoy curating content for the Hillsdale Farmers Market, Hillsdalian Goods, my own personal account? Of course, yes. I love the way I can shape perception and appeal with the perfect filter, angle, and caption - and building a brand is my little marketing-loving heart’s dream. It’s also such an incredible gift to have access to communities we wouldn’t otherwise meet, especially during this year of lockdowns, cancelled events, and travel restrictions.
BUT.
There’s a hole I fall into time and time again, that I want to strongly caution you against.
1. Don’t be one person online, and another in person.
2. Don’t waste your life watching others’ play out.
This call out is as much for myself as it is for all of you - but if you’re feeling @‘ed right now, you might need to do a quick self assessment.
Depression and anxiety are on the rise in our generation, and you don’t have to look very far to see why. Our average screen time on social media alone in the U.S. is over 2 hours a day, spent creating personas and interacting with others, all without ever so much as looking each other in the eye. The toxicity of spending the first moments of your morning, and the last hour + at night on social media is scientifically backed - your attitude and your happiness are directly linked to how you spend those moments.
And rather than imitating personas like a “baddie” or “e-girl” in our Tik toks or our Finsta, why not cultivate an authentic self both in your social media presence and in real life? Splitting our personalities based on what’s appropriate for certain audiences is the opposite of truth and beauty. Not to mention it’s causing dissonance in your heart - like living a double life, the discomfort mounts, even if you can’t see it yet.
“Take photos and videos, yes. Share them with the world, yes. But do it authentically, letting our social media simply be an extension of our personality, rather than our crutch.”
Instead of half our personalities being built on what happens while we sit on our phone in bed, and the majority of our conversations beginning with “did you see that post/tweet/tik tok” - let’s put down our phones and start living our lives. Take photos and videos, yes. Share them with the world, yes. But do it authentically, letting our social media simply be an extension of our personality, rather than our crutch. And after we share them, put the phone back down and use that extra time to go make more memories. I promise you, “that Tik Tok” is not the memory you’ll cherish when you look back at your college experience. Some of your fondest memories of college days are being made right now. Go make them.
Be authentically you. Life your life out from behind a screen. And for goodness’ sake, don’t pass out mid-insta binge and sleep-dial the cops.
Q: What are some of your favorite uses for social media?
Jillian | I love using social media to share beautiful things that inspire me, lessons God has taught me, & images which provoke wonder or creativity. I’ve also found it can be a great way to connect with people around the world who share the same values or interests.
Gianna | As the social media manager for the College, I use social media a lot for work, so one of my favorite uses of social media is helping to share the mission of the College with millions of people each month. Outside of work, some of my other favorite uses include lurking around, seeing what my friends are up to on Facebook, following my favorite artists and creators on Instagram, and occasionally- pretending I’m funny on Twitter.
Q: How do you use social media for your benefit without letting it get out of control?
Jillian | One thing that’s been helpful is to schedule social media posts a week or so in advance. This helps me to focus on being more intentional with what I’m posting and be sure that I’m sharing posts for the right reasons. Another thing that’s beneficial for me is only following accounts and friends that inspire, reveal truth, or spark joy in some way. I’ve found that social media use can become toxic when comparison and conflicting values are involved, so by narrowing down the content that I’m seeing, it can remain a positive creative outlet .
I think a good measure of “healthy” social media use is how it impacts other parts of your daily life. For me, if it encourages me to leave screen time with a desire to to pray more, create art, try a new hobby, or praise God for his work-- then it’s still a healthy use. If I find myself being discouraged by it or feel more complacent, then I know it’s time to change how I’m using it.
Gianna | Social media is an algorithm-based tool. Use that to your advantage—don’t let it take advantage of you. Engage with content you like (cute pictures of animals, funny memes, beautiful travel destinations). That way, the platform knows what you like to see and will show you more of it! Their goal is to keep you on the platform as long as possible so they’re going to try to serve you what you like to see. But it’s only a computer. Lingering on posts that are unhealthy for you will send the wrong signals. As hard as it might be, scroll right past the things that make you upset. Seek out beauty instead! I love finding new and exciting recipes on social, sharing in my friends joys, and of course, I can’t resist a funny meme or video (I’m only human) but that means I can also get sucked into that eyes-glazed-over endless scroll until I finally look up and see I’ve thrown hours of my life away. A habit I started in college was taking breaks from studying or writing papers for brain break. Even now, doing a little scroll-stroll on Instagram will give me a little boost in creativity and solve whatever puzzle I’m working on. The hardest part about setting these limits is keeping them. Use external tools like an obnoxious alarm or an app/extension that shuts off your social media streams. Set a limit and stick with it!
Q: Have you ever put limits on the way you use social media?
Jillian | Yes! Last Lent I gave up using all forms of social media and benefited immensely from that time of fasting. By the end of Lent, I realized that often while waiting, I had a bad habit of turning to social media and mindlessly scrolling through to pass time. I decided to cut it out completely until I could use it again with purpose. To this day, if I find myself tempted to waste time or procrastinate things I need to get done with it, I will fast from social media usage until I know I can use it mindfully.
Gianna | When I first took my job, social media consumed my life. I was so worried I would miss something if I wasn’t constantly connected and that was wildly unhealthy. To solve that problem, I set a limit and taught myself to stop checking work social medias outside of work hours, (word of advice to those who want to go into social media management/PR after college: Turn it off!) The idea of setting limits is also applicable to your own social media use. If you find yourself aimlessly scrolling with your eyes glazed over, not actively engaging with anything, it’s definitely time to put the phone down and do something actually engaging. I also try not to look at my phone at all before going to bed. Studies show that looking at social media before bed can be detrimental to your sleep. Even though the consequences are serious, this is the hardest habit for me to kick. So instead of watching just one more funny video, I send my mom my nightly ‘Goodnight!’ text, put my phone down, pick up a book or my Bible, and allow myself to wind down for the night.
Q: How is social media used differently in college vs out of college?
Jillian | I think during college I would use social media to kill time and would only post randomly. Out of college, I use social media less but am more deliberate with what I’m posting and why.
Gianna | In College, I definitely used social media for vanity. It can be hard on the heart to compare yourself to others on social—whether they’re influencers or your own friends. Social media is a window into other people’s worlds, but the nature of the platforms allow us all to hide the reality of our situations. More often than not, people are putting their best, most filtered foot forward and your audience sees a beautiful rose-colored world when in reality, well, it’s not the reality. When people get discouraged about social media, I try to remind them to see the beauty in it. After college, your friends grow up and get great jobs, start new lives, move beautiful places. rejoice with them! Life after college is also challenging. Pray with them when they need support. Remember that social media is a tool. Use it to find inspiration, community, networking opportunities, and most of all, joy and humor. Social media can be frivolous. Don’t forget to laugh at it and yourself every once in a while.