Three years ago I had zero hobbies, played no sports, hardly hung out with friends, and did nothing except scroll on social media for hours. Three years ago I was also at my lowest point in my life. If I could give my younger self one piece of advice it would be to join a club or sport, find something else to do. Social media is draining and has heavy negative effects on the brain.
Some may argue that it is based on the things you watch, but it becomes addicting. Scrolling for hours and staying up late at night is bad for you, disconnecting you from reality. Joining sports or clubs is highly beneficial to you and your mental health. Having something to do after school instead of watching TikTok. Having goals to work towards instead of focusing on a following or a like count. You might gain confidence in your sport and it’ll drive you away from negative videos on your social media that point out things that you “should” be insecure about. Playing sports or joining a club teaches you how to socialize and learn social cues whereas spending your time scrolling through social media you aren’t learning much.
Not spending time online can also be beneficial because there are fewer bullies. Hateful comments aren’t always flagged right away and chances are you’ll see it and it’s hard to not let things like that get to you. Joining sports and clubs in your community can also be important because you make more friends instead of staying home all day and feeling lonely. They prepare you for future jobs and future social outings that social media does not prepare you for in the slightest. They can also prepare you and help you get into colleges through scholarships and roles you may take on in a club, for example, president or vice president, etc. Kids at my school involved in clubs go on trips to Japan and many other cool places, others (some of our higher-ups) have met many important people in our community, which they note in their college applications. Joining clubs and sports also provides you with free academic help from those around you. Sports can also ensure you have good grades because if you can’t hold a decent GPA then you won’t be able to participate in anything until your grades are up.
Being a part of something in your community should feel good and you’ll create many special and important bonds with lots of different people from all different backgrounds. 3 years ago I was miserable. I joined the cheerleading team in my 8th-grade year of middle school and fell in love with it. I’m now a freshman in high school who made varsity her freshman year, is going to nationals in January and I stunt with seniors throwing elite stunts. My advice to people interested in joining a sport or club is to do it because you never know what could turn into a missed opportunity if you pass it up.
Teresa Manning • Jan 27, 2024 at 1:29 pm
Good for you dear! Keep up the positive good writing too. Social media has never really interested me, I’ve never gone there by choice. I prefer to deal with people face to face and/or pick up the phone and talk to a real person. It is much more effective.
Thank you for sharing, I appreciate your knowledge at such a tender young age. I personally played basketball in my day and use to be kinda fast but I was always that team player that passed it, to the right player at the right time rather than take the glory shot myself. A team takes special individuals that simply love the game. So you can be on my team and day!