You may not have missed anything—it can be hard to truly “know” someone, especially when the only access you have to them is through social media, like Facebook. Because social media is more public than direct one-on-one communication, it is often a space where people are more likely to post their best photos and “best selves”—what they want to be, how they want to look and what they want to do. Given that, your classmate’s cheerful, upbeat photos and posts, may have been what she hoped to be but was tragically not what she was really truly feeling.
Remember, social media typically lets us broadcast more about ourselves, than help us communicate with each other. Creating and keeping close, meaningful friendships takes time, effort, and often, shared experiences that you have in real life. Social media can help maintain the friendships you already have, but it can’t be a substitute for true friendship.
If you do see a friend posting something sad or concerning on social media, be sure to talk to a trusted adult (such as a parent, teacher, guidance counselor, etc.) right away or contact one or more of the following organizations or visit:
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) or use their 24/7 online chat
- Samaritans: 1-877-870-HOPE (1-877-870-4673) or use their online chat
- The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386 or use TrevorChat or TrevorText
- Facebook’s Suicide Prevention page and Facebook’s Help a Friend in Need tip sheet
- CYWH’s Health Guide for Suicide Prevention
- Mind Your Mind: My Friend is in Crisis
If you have other questions about social media, Ask the Mediatrician.
Our health guides are developed through a systematic, rigorous process to ensure accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness. Written and reviewed by experienced healthcare clinicians from Boston Children's Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and consistently ranked as a top hospital by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, these guides combine clinical expertise, specialized knowledge, and evidence-based medicine. We also incorporate research and best practices from authoritative sources such as the CDC, NIH, PubMed, top medical journals, and UpToDate.com. Clinical specialists and subject matter experts review and edit each guide, reinforcing our commitment to high-quality, factual, scientifically accurate health information for young people.