Seniors leave high school with the thought of what’s next? There is not much time for students to figure out what their after high school plans look like. There are many major decisions including the college they will attend, their major, and especially who their roommate or friend will be. Students constantly are looking for validation that they won’t be alone or they will have friends when they are in their new environment.

A new source of anxiety is Instagram pages. As soon as all the college acceptances come out, students are posting on class Instagram pages to connect with other students. These pages have a couple pictures of themselves and a small paragraph describing who they are and what they enjoy. Every post ends with some type of sentence that resembles, “I’m looking for a roommate and friends, so please reach out!” (CNN). It is difficult for students to figure out who would be a good fit for them when they know no one from the school.

There was a student who submitted their post to Dartmouth’s Instagram page. They checked their page 24/7, but were overwhelmed and couldn’t figure out what to say. These apps create an illusion of college life. A student interviewed by CNN stated, “When you’re about to enter college, you’re just trying to hype yourself up. I think the best thing to do, if you want a real college experience, is to just go and meet a random person.” The main question is why are students so stressed about making Instagram pages? They want to have everything planned out and make sure they are not alone. Instagram uses this moment of vulnerability to get students to pay to post online.

It is understandable to be worried about what’s next for the future. The best advice is to not stress about what’s next, and take life as it goes.