Madeline Freeman is from Littleton, Colorado. She is a Business Management major with a focus on entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Maddie is the founder of her nonprofit organization NoSo November. She is a changemaker in the digital space, spreading awareness surrounding social media’s design techniques and how this business model negatively impacts mental health. She is an advocate for suicide awareness and has changed thousands of teens’ lives through guiding them through digital detoxes to focus on their well-being.
Yes I do. My digital resolution is to escape the need to share my life with people through social media. Every exciting, fun, or neat moment I experience, I feel the need to pull my phone out to capture it. Part of me wants to document it for myself, but I continually notice the desire to get attention and also show people I know how great my life is (even though it isn’t at times). As I practice being off of social media for long stretches of time, this urge decreases in intensity, and my goal is to have it not even be a thought that crosses my mind. Living in presence and ease can only be attained for me through abstaining from social media usage.
As we enter a very intense political year, I would like the polarization incentives of social media companies to shift so that people aren’t as hateful toward opposing views and beliefs. It’s sad to see relationships get ruined because of political polarization fueled by addictive algorithms.
I think the impact of social media overuse on mental health is the most important issue. Spending massive amounts of time on social media platforms is taking away our ability to healthily cope with intense emotions. It’s sucking us out of the present, promoting suppression, and making people less socially adept and less happy. We need to find a healthy tech/life balance to reverse the mental health crisis we are seeing today.
I feel most worried about AI’s impact on society. What could be an overwhelmingly positive tool is following the same path that young social media companies followed, into a path of immense harm with little regulation or intervention. Technology is growing exponentially, and our institutions are not prepared or quick enough to stay up to date and provide safeguards. AI has a massive impact on youth wellbeing, and is already drastically undermining the value of education and the importance of the rigor of learning in school. It’s also amplifying the harms of social media.
Take a break! Whether it be a day, a week, a month, or a year, check in with yourself and notice why it may be hard to take a break. It’s not your fault, you are a victim of social media’s addictive design tactics.
Educate themselves. Try to learn firsthand the ins and outs of the apps, do your research, and model the correct behavior! Don’t have strict rules for your children’s tech use if you are scrolling on Facebook at the dinner table or while they are playing at the park. Be mindful of your own usage first, then learn how to support your child. Restriction isn’t always the answer, but during certain times of the day, it most definitely is.
About the 2024 Digital Media Youth Voices Campaign
#DigitalMediaYouthVoices24 provides a glimpse into the hopes and concerns of youth leaders in the digital space. Using their own words, the campaign aims to elevate and amplify the voices of youth themselves as they work to create a healthy digital future.