Lerato is a young lady of 17 years, she comes from the family of 7 in Klerksdorp. She is the first one coming to the University in her Village .Everyone in the village is looking up to her, she is indeed a source of pride and joy in the family and the community.

She has been happy and nervous in the past few weeks, wondering how life would be in the big City especially because it was her first time living without the family and anticipating life in Johannesburg to be void.

First month in Johannesburg was never easy, she contacted home more frequently. It was always good to speak to her mother and catch up on what is happening in the village however this was not sustainable because it was costly.

Lerato was fortunate to receive a smartphone as a gift from her teachers. She liked her smartphone a lot because it made it easier for her to connect with her friends through social media platforms such as WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook and Instagram. She enjoyed her moments on these platforms, she could go on for 4 hours straight without even feeling it.

As months went by she became so attached to her phone, she constantly found herself trawling through her friends’ profiles. One thing that was strange though, she noticed that each time when she does this she was overwhelmed with envy and jealousy when she looks at her friends’ news feed. Noticing that she was not as busy as her friends , Lerato made a conscious decision to always update her status and check in everywhere she goes. She was now making her life decisions based on what “looks good” on social media.

One day she left the room rushing to lecturers and forgot her phone in the room. Lerato was anxious the whole day and could not concentrate in class thinking about how much updates she has missed on Facebook. She realised that the phone was now her very best friend and she cannot survive without it.

Lerato was always tired, having no energy to study because she does not get enough sleep. She suffered academically because her test marks dropped drastically and ultimately not admitted to write exams for 2 major subjects, this in turn prolonged the duration of her studies. She knew where she was going wrong, wanted to stop and make changes in her life.

Questions:

1. Do you think social media has taken control of Lerato’s life ? why?2. What do you think Lerato could have done better ?3. How can you advise a friend who is going through a similar challenge?