Hope Channel premieres Slow Your Scroll at Union College panel

On Saturday, January 20, 2024, the Hope Channel partnered with Campus Health to premiere the third episode of their mental health video series. The event was held in Woods Auditorium 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Campus Health Director Ingrid DeVries sourced six panelists from Union College to speak about their experiences with social media. The audience watched part of the episode, then the panelists discussed the themes and repeated this for the three sections.

The video and panelists covered what social media is, how the algorithm works, cyberbullying, and how social media impacts users. The video interviewed a woman who had gone viral for a language learning practice video. After she gained a huge following, she felt stressed to perform well enough to constantly go viral and entertain her followers.

Hope Channel sent their representative Hannah Drewieck to support the event and introduce the episode. Drewieck graduated from Union College May 2022 with a BA in Communication. She began working at Hope Channel in 2023.

Several of the panelists shared what they considered to be important takeaways from the event:

“Social media isn't either a good or bad thing, it's a tool. We have to remind ourselves that the only identity that we want to portray is the identity through Christ. On and off social media.”

- Milka Mendoza Sanchez

“A negative aspect of social media is that our desire is to remain connected at all times and our human physiology makes it difficult to detach from the virtual. We feel an obligation, while our minds crave connection, other aspects of self (emotional, spiritual, and physical) suffer. Power is given to us by our followers and can, by appearance, easily be seized by those same followers.

A positive aspect of social media is building community and promoting efficient communication. Social media can reach a broader network of people, personal and virtual, at any point in time. There is power in what we say on platforms and people listen to social media more often than other outlets.”

- Santi Fernandez

“I would like [students] to take away that while there are many dangers associated with social media, it can be a valuable tool when used with intentionality and awareness.”

- Matthew Graves

“I would encourage people, including myself, to be aware of our social media habits and keep our identity grounded in Christ. I hope that we can learn to use social media as a tool and not let it control us.”

- Payton Arnett

“Social media is a platform made up of people who are there for a number of reasons, be aware of your interactions with it and how they make you feel, then make a decision to create a positive experience with it.”

- Ingrid DeVries

By Annelise Jacobs