Bellarmine Students Take Different Approaches to Social Media
By: BrentLee Threlkeld
Student scrolling on Instagram
For some college students, social media is an essential part of staying connected. For others, it is something they can live without. Between personal communication, professional opportunities and concerns about online judgment, students approach their digital presence in different ways.
At Bellarmine University, Grant O’Dell and Trinity Howard represent two different approaches to social media. O’Dell maintains a limited personal online presence, while Howard uses social platforms to communicate with friends, promote her photography business and support her campus jobs.
Their experiences reflect how the use of social media depends on a student's priorities, interests and responsibilities.
O’Dell, a graduate student completing a marketing certificate who earned his degree in criminal justice last year, said he decided against using social media around eighth grade. While his friends encouraged him to join platforms, he did not see a reason to participate.
“I just felt like it wasn't something that I needed, and I didn't feel like I should do something just because everyone else is doing it,” O’Dell said.
He has a Snapchat account but rarely uses it. Instead, he prefers communicating through text messages and face-to-face conversations. He said maintaining a limited online presence allows him to avoid feeling responsible for presenting a particular image of himself.
“I just feel like I can be myself,” O’Dell said.
Although he does not see much value in personal social media accounts, O’Dell recognizes that an online presence can be useful professionally. He uses Handshake for career-related purposes and would consider creating a LinkedIn account to support his future career development.
Lara Needham, a professor in Bellarmine's communication department, said students' career goals can influence how they approach their online presence. A student pursuing marketing or social media work may benefit from building a public profile, while someone entering a profession that places greater emphasis on protecting their public image may choose to limit what they share.
“LinkedIn is like your professional digital online resume,” Needham said.
Needham said students should consider their professional goals when deciding what to make public. Online content can reach audiences beyond a student's immediate circle, including people who may evaluate them for future opportunities.
She also said the pressure to maintain an online image extends beyond college students.
“But I do think that there is a pressure for all of us to take college student out of it. There's a pressure because everything is so visual now. Everything is captured immediately,” Needham said.
For Trinity Howard, a junior exercise science major, social media is woven into both her personal and professional life. She primarily uses Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat to stay in contact with friends, describing social platforms as her main form of personal communication.
That use developed partly out of convenience. Howard began messaging her best friend through Instagram after her friend ran out of phone storage. Over time, the platform became a regular way for them to communicate.
Social media also supports Howard's photography business, where she shares her work and reaches potential clients. She photographs subjects ranging from sports to couples and families, using her account to showcase her work.
“It's brought more clients to me through every single day, like sports photography and then versus with like couple and family pictures,” Howard said.
Her online presence extends to campus employment as well. Howard previously served as the public relations and communications coordinator for Bellarmine's Week of Welcome in 2026 and works as a student assistant for social media at the SuRF (Sport, Recreation, and Fitness) Center. Her responsibilities include creating and publishing content for campus audiences.
Using social media for work, however, does not eliminate the challenges of maintaining a personal account. Howard said she sometimes finds it difficult to step away from platforms she relies on for communication and entertainment. She recalled struggling when TikTok was unavailable for a period of time because she was accustomed to scrolling through the app at night.
Her photography business also creates expectations around responding to messages and keeping clients informed about their work.
“As a photographer, I think it is a lot of pressure making sure to respond to the clients and making sure it's on a timely manner,” Howard said.
Needham said students do not necessarily have to choose between maintaining a large public presence and avoiding social media entirely. Instead, they can be intentional about which platforms they use and what they choose to share. Following accounts that provide useful information or highlight local events, for example, can help students stay connected without making every part of their lives public.
For O’Dell, limiting social media remains a personal choice. For Howard, using it is part of maintaining friendships, building a business and contributing to campus life. Neither approach serves every purpose, but both illustrate how students can make different decisions about their digital presence.
As social media continues to intersect with communication, education and professional opportunities, students must decide what role they want it to play in their lives.