Let’s Talk About It: How Social Media Affects Relationships and Self-Image

Cait & Friends Episode #2: A discussion with my friend, Elizabeth Lee about social media, beauty standards, genuineness, and more

Series Intro: Every week or two, I will be chatting with one of my close friends, podcast-style to get their refreshing take on a relevant topic. Topics will focus on 5 main areas: identity, career, health, relationships, and current news. Occasionally, the friend will be anonymized. Most of my friends are either still in college or fresh grads (~ages 19–25), so this is meant to give insight into important aspects of our lives. The conversations are transcribed, edited for clarity, but unfiltered.

This week’s topic: Identity and Relationships, specifically around social media & beauty

A little on Elizabeth: Eli and I have been friends for 5 years, since early high school. We met on the varsity tennis team. Eli’s a rising junior at NYU, majoring in CS, and is my go-to for everything cafe, social media, and advice. Fun fact: We ran her cute maltese-shih tzu Coco’s dog Instagram account together for 3 years.

On Instagram, TikTok, and Toxicity:

Caitlin: We both use social media pretty often — Instagram, Snapchat, and occasionally Facebook. Not to age us, but there are definitely some newer social media out there, namely Facebook’s ‘Subtle Asian Dating’…