When news first broke about a missing person’s case involving Gabby Petito, I immediately thought of my niece, Violet.

Violet is like most modern middle school-aged children, for example, she would probably roll her eyes reading that I described her as still a child. She would certainly roll her eyes knowing I’m writing about her at all!

Again, like most middle schoolers (maybe that’s the better term), Violet enjoys using social media as a consumer and a contributor. She follows along with social media trends attractive to young people and also social media influencers of which I couldn’t name one. However, posthumously, I am aware of Gabby Petito and her attempts to become an influencer with her YouTube channel titled VAN LIFE – Beginning Our Van Life Journey.

I won’t review the details of Petito’s case only to briefly recap that she went on a cross country adventure with her beau, went missing, was found dead, her boyfriend became the sole “person of interest” in the case and was recently found dead after having gone missing for several days himself.

So what still does this have to do with my niece, Violet, and why am I sharing this all with the Daily Iberian audience? Because I know we all have a Violet in our lives and the Gabby Petito case highlights an overlooked but dangerous revelation.

You can’t believe much of anything you find on social media as has been proven by Gabby Petito.

In fairness to Petito, she was not the first nor the last social media influencer. There were probably dozens of others who launched their own attempts at becoming an influencer the same day Petitio did. However, like almost all influencers, the self-produced reality show snapshots of Petito’s life were incomplete, hiding a troubled relationship between two potentially troubled young adults both heading toward tragic endings.

And, up until Petito went missing, the Violets of the world may have thought Petito really, truly was living her best life beside boyfriend Brian Laundrie.

There lies the danger for the social media follower (Violet). As we later learned, Petito and Laundrie were having troubles with each other and negatively acting out. We know they were fighting intensely enough that people called the police, concerned. We have seen the police body cam video of a crying, despondent Petito defending herself to authorities. The video also shows police asking Laundrie about scratches on his arms and face which he attributed to a frantic Petito. There were other unsubstantiated claims of erratic behavior between the pair that caused others to be concerned.

So, how much of that dysfunctional behavior between the two made it on Petito’s videos? None. Not a single moment. In her videos, Petito and Laundrie are traveling around the country, experiencing life without limits, embracing each other in celebration of young love and eternal happiness.

It’s easy for adults, though not all, to see past Petito’s packaging to know it all had to be too good to be true. But, what about pre-teens, teens, young adults battling depression, loneliness, heartache, body issues, self doubt, anxiety and any number of mental health issues?

The death of Gabby Petito is a lot of things, and one of them is a critical teaching moment. A moment to sit with the Violets in our lives and explain that the Elon Musks, Tom Bradys and Kelly Clarksons of the world go through hardships just like the rest of us. Each is a flawed individual in some way, even in the best of times. They hurt, they cry, they feel various forms of inadequacy and have to deal with common and uncommon hardships just like the rest of humanity.

Social media brings people into our children’s lives that they don’t recognize as strangers, instead they can see them as kindred spirits. The same age, race, gender, religion, nationality, world view and with the same likes and dislikes as a Violet. In extreme cases, it isn’t enough for the followers to be like their social media idols, they want to be them.

I wouldn’t want to stop Violet from enjoying who and what brings her happiness or entertainment (“as if,” she would say), but I do want her to remember Gabby Petito and remember about all the struggles and dangers Gabby chose to not share with her followers.

No, this isn’t the lesson a young person wants to learn about altered universes created by social media stars, but the reality is Gabby Petito is a tragic tale we must repeatedly share with our own followers.

MICHAEL MESSERLY is the publisher of The Daily Iberian and Acadiana Lifestyles and can be reached at 337-321-6727 or mmesserly@daily-iberian.com.