Social media is addictive, targets young people

As a teenager who has grown up with phones and social media ever-present, it can be challenging to disconnect from the screens. When I’m on my phone, I feel the need to see what other people are doing and can’t help but compare myself to the photos posted. When I’m off my phone, I think about who has snapped me back or how many likes I get on a photo. Social media has become a dependent factor in my life and has taken a toll on my mental health and self-esteem from this constant need for approval.

According to CBS Colorado, this October, the state of Colorado sued Meta for harmful features on Instagram and Facebook that target adolescents by creating an addiction to their sites. The state argues that these tactics violate consumer protection laws and have contributed to the ongoing mental health crisis teens are experiencing.

To protect Boulder’s youth, the public school systems’ should draw attention to social media’s addictive nature and how it deteriorates students’ mental health. Discussions with students from teachers, counselors and other professionals can help inform adolescents about the dangers of social media. Direct interference with students should occur to prevent the current direction mental health is heading due to social media.

— Lauren Hanson, Boulder

Fans must remember to humanize athletes

“I have to focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and well-being,” Simone Biles said after withdrawing from the 2020 Olympics. Simone speaking up was one of the most prolific cases of an athlete speaking up about their mental health. Fortunately, it is becoming more common for athletes to come out and speak about the pressure and criticism they receive and how it affects their mental health. However, Simone Biles isn’t the only athlete struggling mentally because of the pressure placed on her by coaches, fans and herself.

Athletes and coaches on the CU Boulder football team have recently experienced a lot of hate and pressure to succeed after an explosion in popularity. As a result, when our team underperforms or makes a mistake a lot of hate goes their way, negatively affecting our players mentally. The Buffaloes are our team we should be supporting and celebrating how far our team has come, not tearing them down when they lose. Fans of our football team are very quick to switch to hating the team when there is a mistake made or our team loses. As a community, we need to remember that all athletes and coaches are people too, and not just entertainers. As sports fans, we need to levy this pressure we place on athletes to perform and accept that they make a mistake because they are people too.

We can begin by taking sports less seriously as many fans love their teams too much, this love creates negativity when athletes underperform, or their favorite team loses. As fans, we also need to humanize all athletes and coaches and accept that they may underperform or make mistakes. Once we treat athletes as humans, their mental health will directly increase which will directly increase their performance.

— Finn Gilbert, Boulder

Preserving Boulder’s trees is necessary for our future

I would like to know what “environmental rehabilitation” means in terms of the 200 trees that might be cut down. With the pressures of greenhouse gases heating our atmosphere and the capacity of trees to sequester carbon, help cool the ground and the community, it is imperative to save as many and plant as many trees and other plant life as possible.

So please clarify what the intentions are in this area.

— Mikl Brawner, Longmont