Swipe, Snap, and Streak: Navigating Student Relationships in the Age of Social Media
Valentine’s Day offers a meaningful opportunity to reflect on how social media is transforming student relationships. Today’s students are growing up in a world where platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok are as central to their connections as hand-written notes and hallway conversations. With nearly half of teens reporting that they are online almost constantly, these online interactions are shaping how students communicate, express affection, and navigate conflicts, making it crucial for educators and school leaders to understand the dynamics at play.
Platforms like Instagram and Snapchat are at the heart of how students connect, with Snapchat ranking as a favorite for 38% of high schoolers and Instagram close behind at 36%, according to the 2025 Student Insights Report. These platforms give students ways to stay connected, share their lives, and express themselves creatively—showing why over 33% of students say connecting with friends is their favorite part of social media. But this constant connection can come with challenges. Over half of high schoolers feel they spend too much time online and features such as likes, comments, and streaks, a Snapchat tool that tracks consecutive days of in-app messaging, can add pressure to compare themselves to others.
By addressing these challenges proactively, schools can foster an environment where students feel supported in navigating modern-day relationships. Let’s explore the key challenges students face in online relationships today, the role social media plays, and actionable strategies schools can use to empower their students to thrive both on and off the screen.
Deepfakes: The Digital Dilemma
While explicit content online is nothing new, research from Internet Matters reveals that 13% of teens have encountered deepfake nudes, whether through receiving or sending them, finding them online, or using nudifying apps. That means that these students could be unknowingly encountering fake images, created using just a single photo. The images can be alarmingly realistic and often used to harass, exploit, or blackmail victims, including fellow students. Tragically, this form of image-based abuse disproportionately targets girls and young women, with 99% of sexually explicit deepfakes involving female victims.
Deepfakes present a complex challenge for students, often spreading harmful online behaviors and creating challenges within school communities. To address this, schools can empower students to navigate such challenges by fostering a culture of high-character decision-making and respect for themselves and others.
By fostering discussions about positive social media use, the impact of misinformation, and the importance of respecting boundaries, schools can equip students with the values and skills needed to avoid harmful digital behaviors and build a healthier online culture.
Here are three ways educators can support students in navigating these challenges:
- Encourage students to reflect on the impact of their online actions and prioritize decisions that respect the boundaries of others. Emphasize the importance of thinking critically about what they share or engage with online.
- Help students understand how online tools, including deepfakes, can be used to manipulate and harm others. Discussions can focus on the importance of playing to our core values, consent, and being mindful of the content they interact with or share.
- Encourage students to report inappropriate content or image requests to trusted adults, offering anonymous Q&A sessions or peer-led discussions to create a safe and supportive environment.
Check out this blog to discover how a student is using her mic for good to advocate against deepfake explicit content generated by A.I.
The Ups and Downs of Location Sharing
Apps like Snap Map, a Snapchat feature that allows users to share their real-time location with friends or select contacts on an interactive map, and Find My Friends offer valuable benefits, particularly within families. These tools can provide parents with peace of mind, allow them to check in on student safety, or coordinate logistics more efficiently. When used intentionally and with clear boundaries, location sharing can foster trust and strengthen communication between family members. In fact, according to research from Life360, a popular location-sharing platform, 94% of Gen Z embrace location-sharing.
At the same time, it’s important to acknowledge the potential downsides of location sharing. In peer relationships, constant visibility can lead to unhealthy dynamics, including anxiety, stress, and controlling behaviors. For example, students may feel pressured to explain why they aren’t at a specific event or face conflicts over their movements being tracked by friends. This visibility can also increase feelings of FOMO (fear of missing out), as students see friends gathering or socializing without them, leading to feelings of exclusion and stress. For students, these tools can blur boundaries, create an expectation of constant accountability, and weaken trust.
In The Social Institute’s #WinAtSocial Lesson, Respecting others’ boundaries online and offline, we asked over 1,000 9th graders which boundary-related challenge is the most difficult to navigate. The top answer? Someone pressures you to participate in an activity you’re uncomfortable with.
To help students navigate these challenges, families and educators can take a proactive approach through the following strategies:
- Discuss the pros and cons of location sharing, emphasizing the importance of personal boundaries. Ask students questions such as, “How do you feel about sharing your location with others?” and “What would you do if someone misused your shared location?”
- Help students understand how to use privacy settings to control who sees their location and how often. Encourage them to use features like “ghost mode” on Snap Map to temporarily hide their location.
- Empower students to recognize that social media often showcases curated moments rather than the full picture. Encourage activities that focus on their own goals and offline connections to reduce feelings of missing out.
By equipping students with tools to navigate these scenarios and guiding them to reflect on the impact of location sharing, families and educators can help students use these tools in ways that promote safety, balance, and trust. For more on how students are navigating Snap Map and location sharing, check out our Snapchat playbook here!
Always Connected, Always Watching
Being “always on” has become the default for today’s students, with constant texting, DMs, and Snapchat streaks forming the backbone of how they connect. While technology has undoubtedly allowed for more frequent and immediate communication, it has also created a sense of dependency on tech. According to the report, Constant Companion: A Week in the Life of a Young Person’s Smartphone Use, half of students receive an average of 237 notifications a day.
When students are constantly focused on staying connected, they can lose valuable opportunities to strike a balance online and offline. This can leave little room for personal downtime or self-reflection, which can affect both their mental health and academic performance.
For educators, these challenges often manifest in the classroom as heightened stress, distraction, and even burnout among students. Schools have an important role to play in fostering conversations about setting boundaries with technology, and by helping students prioritize healthy relationship habits both online and offline.
Here are three ways to help students strike a better balance online:
- Encourage students to take intentional breaks from their devices during meals, before bed, or while studying to give their minds a chance to rest.
- Teach students to use features like screen time trackers or focus modes to monitor and limit their usage, turning technology into an ally for balance.
- Support students in finding hobbies or activities—like sports, art, or reading—that help them recharge and build meaningful connections outside of the digital world.
For tips to empower students to strike a balance, check out our playbook here!
TSI’s Take
Long gone are the days when relationships were defined solely by face-to-face interactions. Today, connections are shaped by algorithms, notifications, and social media likes, making online interactions central to how students build and maintain relationships.
By equipping students with the right tools and strategies, educators can empower them to build stronger, healthier online and offline connections.
Here’s how schools can make an impact:
- Teach Students the Power of Their Choices Online
- Help students understand that what they do online leaves a lasting impression. Create space for meaningful conversations about the importance of thinking critically before posting online. Encourage students to “pause before they post” and reflect on how their online actions can shape their relationships, reputation, and personal growth.
- Champion the Value of Striking a Balance
- Encourage students to embrace tech-free moments that fuel their health and happiness. Share the benefits of disconnecting, such as reduced stress, better focus, and stronger relationships.
- Help Students Set Boundaries
- Equip students with practical tools to define and maintain healthy boundaries. Whether it’s managing location-sharing settings, setting limits on screen time, or striking a balance with social media, schools can empower students to navigate social media and tech in positive, high-character ways.
By fostering open conversations and providing actionable strategies, schools can help students develop the confidence and character to navigate their relationships in a way that fuels their well-being and strengthens their school culture. Happy Valentine’s Day!
The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in empowering students by understanding students. Through #WinAtSocial, our gamified, peer-to-peer learning platform, we equip students, educators, and families to navigate their social world – in the classroom and beyond, online and offline – in healthy, high-character ways. Our unique, student-respected approach empowers and equips, rather than scares and restricts. We incorporate timely topics about social media, tech use, and current events that are impacting student well-being and learning. #WinAtSocial Lessons teach life skills for the modern day, capture student voice, and provide school leaders with actionable insights. Through these insights, students play an essential role in school efforts to support their own health, happiness, and future success as we enable high-impact teaching, meaningful family conversations, and a healthy school culture.