Former Mackay Local Explores The ‘Real’ Impact Of Social Media

Former Mackay local and author Alexis Zahner is returning home to share her experiences with social media and her debut book, Real. Photo supplied

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Trends, reels and the endless cycle of always wanting more has quietly bombarded the minds of countless social media users of all ages, but one former Mackay local has made it her mission to help others understand the effects of social media and find practical ways to break free from online addiction.

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Alexis Zahner is in Mackay over the next week to teach upcoming generations about social media and the effects it can have on the mind, particularly on identity, self-discovery, as well as the marketing strategies that get viewers hooked and influence their decisions. It is something Alexis knows first-hand can be a useful tool, but also a great disruption to authenticity and the world as we see and experience it.

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Alexis will hold a free meet and greet and book launch today, Friday 2^nd October, at 5.30pm at the Mackay Surf Lifesaving Club, where she will give a talk and answer questions relating to her debut book, Real: Reconnecting to Yourself in a World of Likes and Lies.

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A former Mackay girl, Alexis spent the past 15 years working across business psychology, marketing and media, with her interest in social media influence beginning during her university studies at James Cook University in Townsville.

Her own experience as a social media user, travel blogger and influencer eventually led her to question how much of her identity, decisions and values were being shaped by what she saw online.

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“The tipping point came for me about 3 years ago when I had this feeling that I couldn't separate influence from my own personal decision making,” she said.

“I couldn't separate my own likes, dislikes, values, relationships from what I was being exposed to and being influenced by online.”

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“I found that I needed to take some time away from social media to recalibrate what was important to me and sort of reconnect and come back to myself.”

Alexis said she understood the feeling of questioning who you are outside of social media.

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“I know what it feels like to live a life under the influence of social media and have that existential crisis of thinking to yourself, who am I? What do I like? What's the kind of life I want to live? and struggling to separate myself from influence.”

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Alexis is particularly passionate about reaching teenagers, who she says are in an important stage of identity development, and will share this message with Mackay high school students during her upcoming school talks.

“Teenagers are really easily influenced by social media. So it's a really important age where we start educating them – not just on the mental health repercussions of things like social media and how it shortens their attention span, but how it actually influences who they become.”

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“If you're asking yourself these questions, it's not your fault. Social media is actually geared to create this impact on you.”

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Alexis encourages people of all ages to “start expanding beyond what you see on the platform.”

“Dare to indulge in the things that you've always been curious about or things you used to love,” she said.

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“Don't be afraid to put the phone down to let yourself be curious and have fun.”

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What: Alexis Zahner's 'Real' Book launch

When: 5.30pm Friday 2^nd October 2026

Where: Mackay Surf Lifesaving Club

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