Lerato is a 17-year-old student from a small village who is the first in her family to attend university. She found the transition to life in Johannesburg difficult at first but was gifted a smartphone that allowed her to stay connected to friends and family through social media. However, Lerato became overly attached to her phone and constantly updated her social media status, feeling envy toward her friends' posts. This caused her schoolwork to suffer as she grew tired from lack of sleep and her test marks dropped, preventing her from taking exams in two subjects and prolonging her studies.

1. Lerato isa youngladyof 17 years,she comesfromthe familyof 7 in Klerksdorp. She isthe firstone
comingto the UniversityinherVillage .Everyoneinthe village islookinguptoher,she is indeeda
source of pride andjoyin the familyand the community.
She has beenhappyandnervousinthe past few weeks,wonderinghow lifewouldbe in the bigCity
especiallybecause itwasherfirsttime livingwithoutthe familyandanticipatinglife inJohannesburg
to be void.
Firstmonthin Johannesburgwasnevereasy,she contactedhome more frequently.Itwasalways
goodto speakto her motherandcatch upon whatis happeninginthe villagehoweverthiswasnot
sustainable becauseitwascostly.
Lerato wasfortunate toreceive asmartphone asa giftfromherteachers.She likedhersmartphone
a lot because itmade iteasierforher to connectwithherfriends throughsocial mediaplatforms
such as WhatsApp,WeChat,FacebookandInstagram.She enjoyedhermomentsonthese
platforms,she couldgoon for4 hoursstraightwithoutevenfeelingit.
As monthswentbyshe became soattachedto her phone,she constantly foundherself trawling
throughher friends’profiles.One thingthatwasstrange though,she noticedthateachtime when
she doesthisshe was overwhelmedwithenvyandjealousy whenshe looksatherfriends’ news
feed.Noticingthatshe wasnotas busyas her friends, Leratomade a consciousdecisiontoalways
update herstatusand check ineverywhereshe goes.She wasnow makingherlife decisionsbased
on what“looksgood”on social media.
One day she leftthe roomrushingto lecturersandforgotherphone inthe room. Leratowas anxious
the whole dayand couldnotconcentrate inclass thinkingabouthow muchupdatesshe hasmissed
on Facebook. She realisedthatthe phone wasnow herverybestfriendandshe cannot survive
withoutit.
Lerato wasalwaystired,havingnoenergytostudybecause she doesnotgetenoughsleep.She
sufferedacademicallybecause hertestmarksdroppeddrasticallyand ultimatelynotadmittedto
write examsfor2 major subjects,thisin turnprolongedthe durationof herstudies. She knew
where she wasgoingwrong,wantedtostop andmake changesin herlife.
Questions:
1. Do youthinksocial mediahastakencontrol of Lerato’s life ? why?
2. What do youthinkLeratocould have done better?
3. How can youadvise a friendwhoisgoingthrough a similarchallenge?