If like me, you rode the public school bus for your formative years, you got an extra dose of what we refer to as resilience training. Social media was just getting started with AIM (yep, that’s AOL instant messanger) when this Millennial was in middle school. Around 2004 when I was a freshman in college, The Facebook (remember the “The”?) was just coming into play. And in adulthood, I’ve been collecting my thoughts on how these two experiences are analogous.

Social media is like riding a school bus:

• there’s a sense of urgency and immediacy
• just thinking about it can make a human a little anxious
• it can be rife with bullying, gossip, and other emotional violence
• no one can save you. Once you’re on, you’re stuck.
• people are constantly misrepresenting (overgrandizing) themselves
• you believe there is only this, and that’s all there is
• feels like there’s nobody in control (who’s driving the bus?)
• the way you perceive people is based on a narrow scope of vision
• there’s always that one asshole trolling people
• nothing is private
• when you finally get off, there is freedom

If you follow my train of thought, feel free to add your own in the comments!