To: My 10-year-old self
By: Sam Tinajero-Alvarado
Tags: Instagram, Letters, Social Media, Twitter, Lessons Learned

If I’m remembering correctly it’s the year 2011, you’re in the 5th grade and you can’t stop listening to Arctic Monkeys. You’ve probably been hearing non-stop about a new app called Snapchat and are considering asking your parents’ permission to create an account. I’m here to tell you what you can expect from this app and many others that will soon consume your life.

Via Unsplash/ThoughtCatalog

Let’s start with Snapchat. It will quickly become the app you turn to in order to share funny moments from a girls sleepover or a trip to Toronto. You will want to add pretty much everyone on Snapchat and watch their stories as the only daily news you consider important. Pictures of sunsets and selfies in school bathrooms will cloud your feed. Soon, dramas around you will arise as girls discover they aren’t the only ones exchanging Snapchats with the boy of their 6th grade dreams. You will want to start ‘streaks’ with anyone you’ve added and this will determine just how many friends you’ll have as you walk down the small halls of your elementary school. Beware, just because you send each other photos of your puckered duck face doesn’t mean you have solidified a meaningful relationship.

Via Unsplash/Prateek Katyal

Next, Instagram. This one will come around 8th grade and it will be with such urgency that you sign up for it that you hardly bother to tell your parents. At first, you’re overly aware of how public this app is and the fact that you could be manipulated into giving your personal information to a pedophilic man posing as a 14-year-old. Over time however, it will be the platform by which you calculate your worth, based on the likes you get on a photo or the amount of followers you gain. Don’t let this fool you, you are allowed to post as often or as infrequently as you like. Post things that make you happy and that you’re proud of without worrying about what people think. Make sure not to believe everything you see online, many people filter themselves (both literally and figuratively), there is no need to compare yourself to others.

Via Unsplash/DORAN

Finally, the titular Twitter. You’ll download it at a time when you’re tired of seeing photos upon photos of a hazed reality and you will quickly become obsessed. Twitter will become a platform where large scale news will be at your fingertips in less than 140 words and you’ll find yourself tweeting from an inner activist drive. Most of the time spent on this app will be split between a desire to be distracted and a desire to be informed. Be wary however, how information can be easily manipulated and always fact check before hitting that retweet button.

As I sit here typing out this letter almost ten years later, I can safely say I’ve learned quite a bit. It would be rather stupid to claim that social media has played a rather insignificant role in my life when it is slowly turning into a possible career choice. Though you’ve dipped in and out of using other social media platforms, this triad of apps will continue to be vital in your life. They have revolutionized the way you communicate with people, create connections and share the inner workings of your being. They can be wonderful but could also pose dangerous repercussions for your mental health if you don’t tread lightly. My only advice to you: regardless of how much you see on the screen, you must always go back to those who are sitting right in front of you. That is what really matters.