Social media has many aspects that people love. It is fun to post photos and see how people react, to see what friends and family have shared, and to send funny snapchats to your friends.

However, social media is not always a positive thing.

Many high school students spend a decent portion of their day staying updated on social media, and too many teenagers obsess over how many likes they get on their posts or how many followers they have. You should not let a number determine how you feel about yourself.

With social media, so many teens feel the need to be validated by how many likes they get, how many people comment on their posts or how quickly someone messages them back. The measuring tool of today that teens tend to use is how many likes or followers they have and they let those numbers determine whether they are likeable and if their thoughts and opinions are valued.

When you are relying on other people to determine how you feel about yourself and define who you are, you are never satisfied with yourself because it is so out of your control.

Instead of taking the time to really figure out their beliefs and opinions and understand that it is okay to be different from everyone else, many teens try to mirror their thoughts and opinions to reflect what the majority of people say on their social media accounts.

With social media, it is so easy to compare yourself to others because people display the best versions of themselves and many of their thoughts and opinions are out there for everyone to see. It is easy to see what others post and have negative thoughts about yourself—that you will never be as pretty as them or have as many friends as they do.

It is important to be happy with the person that you are and try not to compare yourself to others on social media. Post photos because you like them, not because you think they will get a lot of likes and comments.

If you are ever feeling upset because you think you are missing out on something due to what people are posting on social media, it a good idea to put your phone away for a while. Instead of obsessing over what you might be missing, sign out of social media and spend time with friends or family doing something you enjoy.

Surround yourself with people that know you and like you for who you are because when most people think about someone, they rarely think about how popular they are on social media, but instead, what they are like as a person and what impact they have on others.

I want to be defined by my unique characteristics and by the genuine relationships that I have with my friends and family, not by what others think about me based on my social media accounts and how many likes I get.