It’s Time to Reset (the Cost of Numbers in Social Media)

As the world transitions from using 2024 to 2025 in their day-to-day activities, many people make the choice to reset their technological devices to ring in the new year. Changing wallpapers, fonts, and privacy settings is common among those who feel as though it is a way to cleanse themselves of any off-feeling left from the previous year. In addition to making changes to personal devices, the phenomenon of what I like to call “The Social Media Cleanout” is a popular add-on to the new year’s reset package. 

Characteristics of “The Social Media Cleanout” include removing old posts that no longer seem relevant, deleting chats that read “25w”, and/or making edits to profile information. When I asked my friends what they do when they decide to cleanse their social media presence, the most common response was that they looked at their “Followers” and “Following” lists. The logic behind choosing whether or not to remove or add an individual is unique to the person doing the action; however, it raises a bigger question of the impact that social media, as a whole, has on teenagers and their self-esteem.

Many sources have cited that social media’s presence in teenagers' lives damage their mental health including articles published from UC Davis Health, Yale Medicine, and Stanford Law School. To specify, Kathy Katella from Yale’s Family Health department cites that “those who used social media over three hours each day faced twice the risk of having negative mental health outcomes, including depression and anxiety symptoms.” [1] In addition, UC Davis’ Cultivating Health blog recently published articles that state that “the use of social media increases feelings of FOMO” [2], the fear of missing out. 

The act of resetting personal devices and social media occurs when an individual goes through the list of people that they follow and who, in return, follow them. In order to have a balanced social media presence and simultaneously take action to improve your mental health, we suggest going through every person you follow and remove them if they have zero connection or benefit to your life. That goes for celebrities and brands as well. There will not be catastrophic consequences if you decide your mental health is more important than Kim Kardashian documenting her life through Instagram Reels. If you find ways to remove distractions that contribute to low self-esteem, you will start to see small changes that lead to a happier and healthier life.