Social media can cheapen a priceless commodity – me!

“You matter.” Those were the words written on the screen when I recently entered Mount Carmel Academy’s Mother Thérèse Chevrel Assembly Center. I was fairly certain that this presentation would be nothing special. I was more focused on the AP Language paper I had to write that night.


“You matter,” said the speaker, who I later found out was Protect Young Eyes (PYE) speaker Doug Crawford. It wasn’t just one of those statements that became a habit to say. It wasn’t as empty and hollow as it usually is when people tell me, “You matter.” It was genuine and full of love, and, most importantly, full of God.

Mr. Crawford reiterated how valuable we were in God’s eyes and said his goal with his talk was that every student walk out of the room “knowing that you matter.” Even though there are cars worth millions of dollars and movie productions worth a fortune, nothing could ever replace one of us … and that’s why it’s so important that we protect ourselves.

With social media and peer pressure, it’s easy to let things spread online. It becomes a habit so easily done that it feels like nothing, that it doesn’t matter. You start feeling like putting stuff online won’t affect you too much. You think, “So what? None of this matters.”

But, it does. Because, as Mr. Crawford said, “You matter.” You matter so much that there is no one else like you, and you could never be replaced. Social media has become such a force of habit that the constant sending of unsolicited, inappropriate pictures has become “normalized” in society. Something so intimate, special and genuine, just online forever.

How can we neglect our worth in such a way? How can we think we are so insignificant that we can give ourselves to strangers online?

“If you wouldn’t say it with your tongue, don’t say it with your thumbs,” Mr. Crawford told the student body. What we see matters, what we say matters, what we send matters  and what we stand for matters.


We shouldn’t feel constant pressure to put things out on the internet that neglect to acknowledge our worth and dignity. Our generation has the power to change that and redefine our worth. Receiving likes on Instagram or going viral on TikTok has no connection to a person’s value. Nothing is going to satisfy us in this world more than a strong relationship with God, who never changes, unlike our society.

Through the power of Mr. Crawford’s message, it is possible to spark change and move away from the inappropriate and ugly social media habits that soil and tarnish our worth. He has inspired me and so many other people to stop our generation’s need to sexualize both themselves and others. It starts with me, with you and with others. It starts with remembering, “You matter.”

Vivian DiSalvo is a senior at Mount Carmel Academy in New Orleans.