Social media has an impact on everyone one way or another. It can be someone’s escape from reality or it can be someone’s whole world depending on their following and how much they entertain their following. Here are 4 different girls with 4 different amounts of followers and how they feel about them.

This is Krisztina Chon. She’s a sophomore at Stafford High School and has a following of roughly 7,000 on her dance account which is run by her mom. She not only shows off her insane ability to dance but also does many collaborations with brands.“It’s cool getting exposure from different brands but it’s sometimes stressful. My mom runs the account and some of the pictures that she takes aren’t my favorite,” Chon says. Ultimately, if anyone were to have that amount of following, there would have to be pressure that comes with it right? “Most of my following is just people from dance or other dancers so I feel like I can relate to them,” she adds. It’s taken some time to get to that high of a number. It would probably be hard to erase the account all together. “If I could, I would either get rid of the account or definitely lower the amount of followers I have. When my mom puts it on social media, I don’t have control over who sees it,” she says.

This is Emily Giecek who is a senior at Stafford High School. She has about 1,700 followers on her main Instagram account. She loves to post where she’s been but also to spread positivity. “I feel like social media is a toss up. I try to spread awareness about things and information on what’s currently happening in the world,” she says. However, social media can’t be 100% positive all the time. “Some days, social media is just so toxic. I contemplate deleting it all the time,” Giecek adds. What’s the main purpose of social media then? Why do people have it if they’re just going to delete it? “I’m not from Virginia so I’m able to stay connected thanks to social media platforms like Instagram. A lot of my friends are older and in college so when they post, it’s good to see that they’re doing well. I don’t have to constantly text them, I can just go to their page and see what they are up to,” she says. 

This is Rachel Adel. She is a sophomore at Stafford High School. Her Instagram account consists of around 440 followers. She loves the app and uses it pretty often. “It’s just a fun place to keep up on everyone’s lives,” Adel says. 440 followers is pretty standard for only being 16 and in 10th grade so she doesn’t really think that much into her following. “I don’t really think about it a lot. It’s not something that I constantly check and think about when I post something,” she says. At this day in age, most people have at least one social media platform just to have it, which is the reason for the addiction and constant need for a phone. “I definitely like social media because it’s entertaining but it also distracts me from all the homework I have. If I didn’t have Instagram, I would actually focus on getting all of my work in on time and not wait until the last minute. I would probably spend the rest of my free time reading which I should do anyway,” Adel adds.

This is Jamy Parez Donis. She’s a junior here at Stafford High School. She had a following of 965 but just recently deleted the app. “I used to go on it all the time watching Instagram reels and it didn’t really do anything good for me,” Perez Donis says. Deciding to take that big step and delete the app on your own without any regrets is pretty tough. 

Social media is sometimes not the best environment so escaping from it can only benefit you in the long run. “There’s just too much toxicity on Instagram and I just decided to delete it all together,” Perez Donis adds.

Depending on how many followers you have could dictate your entire future self and the path you choose in life. However, it’s your ultimate decision to choose to live life through a screen and entertain people who are only “fans” of you.