Let’s Get Critical: Social Media and Modern Life

As someone who is chronically online, there is something fascinating about the communication between two people who digest vast amounts of social media. From memes, to viral trends, to soundbites, communication among folks who engage heavily with social media almost starts to sound like a different language entirely. Steady scrollers stumble upon a wide variety of topics that limited users never hear about. Often, we become aware of global events before the mainstream media can report on it. 

Interestingly, social media is what you make of it. Platforms give you more of what you engage with by utilizing algorithms that learn your likes and dislikes, all while suggesting and alternating different types of material to see what catches your eye and keeps you on the app. It can be great for finding out about new hobbies, book recommendations, and music. Apps like TikTok help people share their stories, build community, launch small businesses, engage with politics, and stay informed (Sharma et al., 2020). Unfortunately, social media can also keep you in an echo chamber, keep you in an emotionally elevated state, and keep your attention for far longer than you intend. 

Like most things, responsible social media use requires balance and mindfulness. For those of us on social media multiple times a day everyday, it is important to keep some things in mind to protect our mental health, our peace, and our livelihoods.

One of the most critical aspects of responsible social media engagement is critical media literacy, which has been collaboratively defined as “an inquiry-based process for analyzing and creating media by interrogating the relationships between power and knowledge,” (Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas, 2021). Critical media literacy encourages us to ask questions such as: Who is making this content? Why am I being shown this content? Who benefits from this message? What am I meant to feel as a result of this message? 

Although the surface goal of social media platforms is to bring people together, the underlying goal for the owners of the platforms is engagement (time spent on the platform) which results in higher revenue due to ads. Research has shown that “rage bait,” which is media that is intended to provoke a strong, negative reaction in the viewer, results in increased engagement and visibility of that content compared to neutral or positive media (Shin et al., 2025). Critical media literacy allows us to observe and respond to media in a more objective way, rather than react to media in an emotionally heightened way. 

Is This Shareworthy? from https://newseumed.org/

Informed and balanced consumption of social media can be beneficial to life in the modern world. The obvious precursor to media consumption is media creation. We have become used to sharing wide swaths of our daily lives on multiple platforms, and we may forget the potential global reach of our messages. We may forget that “the internet is forever,” and it is nearly impossible to have something permanently erased. Recruiters at top-tier companies complete deep dives into candidates' social media profiles, and anything untoward can cost countless potential opportunities. 

As of the writing of this article, a high-profile social media event is playing out in real time, and provides a stark example of why it is crucial to understand the potential impact of social media posts. Elon Musk and the President of the United States began sparring via the social media platforms that each owns (X and Truth Social, respectively), resulting in the narrative of a messy and public “breakup” between the two men. Although some messages have now been deleted or edited, there are plenty of screenshots. The internet never forgets. Moreover, social media posts from the POTUS are considered official communications, and will be entered into archival records per the Presidential Records Act. This tiff is now a part of US history. 

Therefore, as you continue to scroll, swipe, like, post, and share, remember that anything could go viral, an offhanded joke can cost future opportunities, and platforms are designed to keep you engaged. Through critical media literacy and mindful content creation, we can continue to benefit from the best parts of social media and minimize potential damage to our mental health and overall well being. 

Resources:

Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas. (2021). Defining Critical Media Literacy. Critical Media Literacy - Research Guides at UCLA Library. https://guides.library.ucla.edu/educ466

Sharma, M. K., Anand, N., Vishwakarma, A., Sahu, M., Thakur, P. C., Mondal, I., Singh, P., Sj, A., N, S., Biswas, A., R, A., John, N., Tapatrikar, A., & Murthy, K. D. (2020). Mental health issues mediate social media use in rumors: Implication for media based mental health literacy. Asian journal of psychiatry, 53, 102132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102132

Shin, J., DeFelice, C., & Kim, S. (2025). Emotion Sells: Rage Bait vs. Information Bait in Clickbait News Headlines on Social Media. Digital Journalism, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2025.2505566