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Kowalewski: Social media can tell a story, but not always the complete one

By Brenda Marsteller Kowalewski - | Jul 17, 2024

Photo supplied, Weber State University

Brenda Marsteller Kowalewski

Social media has undeniably reshaped how we connect, communicate and perceive the world, but its impact is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it fosters global connectivity, enabling instant communication and the democratization of information. It has empowered individuals to share their stories, mobilize for causes and find communities of support. However, the relentless pursuit of likes, shares and validation can lead to a distorted sense of self-worth and contribute to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Moreover, the echo chambers created by algorithms can polarize groups and exacerbate divisions by reinforcing biases and limiting exposure to diverse perspectives, which sometimes results in harmful misinformation.

For these and other reasons, I’m not a big social media user. In fact, my friends and colleagues know that if they want to know about what is going on in my life, they need to be friends with my spouse on Facebook. As a former journalist, he chronicles a lot of events happening in our lives through posts. For example, on our most recent trip to the Pacific Northwest to visit our son, my spouse created daily posts reporting our adventures at every location visited. I, along with many others, enjoyed viewing these posts containing the photos he chose to depict each day’s adventures.

But like most things in the world of social media, viewers aren’t getting the whole story. Like any communication tool, social media allows us to construct a reality.

Case in point, to read my spouse’s post about our last hike on the Cascade Pass Trail you would have thought we had a relaxing, serene experience watching playful mountain goats at the top of the pass against the stark beauty of the glacier-covered mountains. The setting was accurately depicted, breathtaking. What was happening there was anything but serene.

As soon as we reached the top of the pass, we encountered a hiker writhing in pain with cramps in the back of his legs. I grabbed the pack off my photo-taking spouse’s back to get a packet of electrolytes for this hiker. My son, who is studying kinesiology, coached me to select the packet with the most magnesium while giving the hiker a few tips to help alleviate the pain.

With electrolytes successfully dispersed, we settled in to eat our sandwiches after our 7-mile uphill climb. About half a sandwich in, a different hiker approached asking if I had anything for nausea. I didn’t have any anti-nausea medication, just electrolytes, which is what I was communicating when his companion, seated on the rock next to me, began throwing up. I had no idea what this individual was dealing with but again started mixing up some electrolytes hoping, if nothing else, to stave off dehydration.

The ill hiker was weakening and shaking like a leaf when another hiker, a seasoned physician, arrived. My son and his girlfriend announced they were going back down the trail to catch a park ranger we had passed earlier. On a side note, this is exactly what they did for me last year when I was suffering a similar fate at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Before they left, however, my spouse managed to grab a “money shot” of them in front of the incredible backdrop of the North Cascades, one of the 50 photos he included in his daily post that day.

The physician hiker and I moved the ill hiker into the shade, put snow and cold water on his back and helped him sip the electrolyte mixture I had been chilling in a bottle buried in a nearby snowfield. I found myself telling the ill hiker about my similar experience a year ago, trying to reassure him that he too will make it through this despite how awful he felt at that moment.

Our son’s training for this year’s Ogden Marathon paid off because he caught up with the park ranger, who had a satellite phone and set the rescue protocol into motion.

Social media provides a lens through which we peer into the lives of folks, but what you see isn’t always what you get. My example of the two realities happening on the Cascade Pass Trail, one depicted on social media and one not, is pretty innocuous without significant consequences for anyone who viewed my budding photojournalist spouse’s post. But others can have significant, sometimes devastating, consequences.

As we navigate this digital landscape, it’s crucial to strike a balance between harnessing the benefits of social media and mitigating its negative impacts, ensuring it serves as a tool for empowerment rather than a source of detriment to users’ well-being and societal cohesion.

Brenda Marsteller Kowalewski is a sociologist and vice provost for high-impact educational experiences, faculty excellence, international and graduate programs at Weber State University.

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