social media is something that can change the way someone acts and even what they say. It affects people in many ways, some good and some bad. How does it affect you?
Social media. It’s a word that can mean many things. Some good, some bad. People are judged by what they post and how many likes they get. An interviewee Charlotte Porter sums it up: “I think [social media] is very in the middle because there are good aspects about it like boosting self confidence, [you] get to interact with people and you get to follow favorite celebrities and look at funny videos. Then there’s the messed up side about it and people, (myself included), care too much about how many followers they have and there is such an air of fakeness, so you see these things and you think ‘oh they have a perfect life,’ but they don’t have a perfect life. [They] just choose to share what part of their life is perfect with their followers.” Cece Fontaine disagrees however. Fontaine states; “It’s a good thing where you can express yourself on the internet.”
Other interviewees include Monique Wethy and Hazel Philips. On the subject, they both seemed to be in agreement that Instagram and Snapchat are both good things that have some bad qualities, such as cyber bullying and “making people feel less than.”
First up, Charlotte Porter in 8th grade had a lot of important things to say.. Porter uses Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest, and We Heart It. When asked why she uses these social media platforms she answered; ”I mean, definitely different reasons for each of them, but like Instagram. The main reason I use it is because whenever I post a picture of myself it helps you make yourself feel better about yourself but not in a ‘I need validation’ [kind of] way and that I’m showing to the world that I have confidence and that I need confidence, and [I use it] to stay in touch with my friends.”
Porter found social media flawed in just a few ways, and stated: “I guess I wish social media was just a place for sharing who you are and your content to the world and there was no such thing as followers and likes and you could just share it to people that want to see it so you wouldn’t have to focus on the numbers [because] that’s the main part that stresses people out.”
As some of you may know, a few days ago a blackout on Facebook and Instagram occurred which caused people to not be able to like posts or post things at all. Porter was also very irritated about this and commented “ [The social media blackout] pissed me off because I use instagram a lot. I don’t think it deeply affected me, I just got annoyed about it [because] I couldn’t post anything to my story and I have an edit account and I wanted to post an edit that day and I couldn’t like posts or anything and I wanted to wish my friend a happy birthday on my story but I couldn’t.”’
Another interviewee, Monique Wethy who is a 6th grade vocalist, diagrees. Wethy said, “[I] didn’t really notice it that much. I noticed that Instagram was glitching a little bit but I think people were overreacting. Sure it’s a little annoying but it’s not the end of the world.” This is not, however, the only thing Wethy and Porter disagreed on. While Porter focused most on the likes and followers, Wethy disliked the fact that cyberbullying is caused by social media. She even stated “[I would like to] eliminate cyber bullying. So if a person’s being really mean they should be banned. [I know people] can be, but I think it should be more strict.” Wethy also disliked that “people become addicted to it and base everything off of what a person thinks online.”
Hazel Philips also disliked the fact that people could be cyber bullied, but went a little more in depth than Wethy. Philips stated that people who cyber bully were “awful people,” and “really hated” that they called people “fat,” and “disgusting.”
Philips uses the main social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest. Philips considers themselves a frequent user of social media, so of course the blackout greatly affected them. They stated, “I was upset because it wouldn’t let me post things or talk or comment and I really wanted to talk to people and it wouldn’t let me and I was [really annoyed].”
Philips became a frequent user of social media because they like “showing who they are” on it. They also like being “in different communities where people won’t judge me but I don’t really care [that] they don’t even live in the same state as me but we really understand each other and that’s all that really matters.”
My last interviewee is Cece Fontaine. Fontaine uses social media for many reasons including to post pictures of herself and operate her edit business. On the subject Fontaine stated “I use Instagram for my editing business where I edit videos. It’s called @Moodedits and @Editsbylemony. I also have a personal account where I just post photos of myself or something. I also like doing Instagram stories. Instagram stories are fun. But it’s kind of copying of off Snapchat, but I guess Instagram owns Snapchat.”
All in all, social media is something that can change the way someone acts and even what they say. It affects people in many ways, some good and some bad, as you just read. How does it affect you?
Other interviewees include Monique Wethy and Hazel Philips. On the subject, they both seemed to be in agreement that Instagram and Snapchat are both good things that have some bad qualities, such as cyber bullying and “making people feel less than.”
First up, Charlotte Porter in 8th grade had a lot of important things to say.. Porter uses Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest, and We Heart It. When asked why she uses these social media platforms she answered; ”I mean, definitely different reasons for each of them, but like Instagram. The main reason I use it is because whenever I post a picture of myself it helps you make yourself feel better about yourself but not in a ‘I need validation’ [kind of] way and that I’m showing to the world that I have confidence and that I need confidence, and [I use it] to stay in touch with my friends.”
Porter found social media flawed in just a few ways, and stated: “I guess I wish social media was just a place for sharing who you are and your content to the world and there was no such thing as followers and likes and you could just share it to people that want to see it so you wouldn’t have to focus on the numbers [because] that’s the main part that stresses people out.”
As some of you may know, a few days ago a blackout on Facebook and Instagram occurred which caused people to not be able to like posts or post things at all. Porter was also very irritated about this and commented “ [The social media blackout] pissed me off because I use instagram a lot. I don’t think it deeply affected me, I just got annoyed about it [because] I couldn’t post anything to my story and I have an edit account and I wanted to post an edit that day and I couldn’t like posts or anything and I wanted to wish my friend a happy birthday on my story but I couldn’t.”’
Another interviewee, Monique Wethy who is a 6th grade vocalist, diagrees. Wethy said, “[I] didn’t really notice it that much. I noticed that Instagram was glitching a little bit but I think people were overreacting. Sure it’s a little annoying but it’s not the end of the world.” This is not, however, the only thing Wethy and Porter disagreed on. While Porter focused most on the likes and followers, Wethy disliked the fact that cyberbullying is caused by social media. She even stated “[I would like to] eliminate cyber bullying. So if a person’s being really mean they should be banned. [I know people] can be, but I think it should be more strict.” Wethy also disliked that “people become addicted to it and base everything off of what a person thinks online.”
Hazel Philips also disliked the fact that people could be cyber bullied, but went a little more in depth than Wethy. Philips stated that people who cyber bully were “awful people,” and “really hated” that they called people “fat,” and “disgusting.”
Philips uses the main social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest. Philips considers themselves a frequent user of social media, so of course the blackout greatly affected them. They stated, “I was upset because it wouldn’t let me post things or talk or comment and I really wanted to talk to people and it wouldn’t let me and I was [really annoyed].”
Philips became a frequent user of social media because they like “showing who they are” on it. They also like being “in different communities where people won’t judge me but I don’t really care [that] they don’t even live in the same state as me but we really understand each other and that’s all that really matters.”
My last interviewee is Cece Fontaine. Fontaine uses social media for many reasons including to post pictures of herself and operate her edit business. On the subject Fontaine stated “I use Instagram for my editing business where I edit videos. It’s called @Moodedits and @Editsbylemony. I also have a personal account where I just post photos of myself or something. I also like doing Instagram stories. Instagram stories are fun. But it’s kind of copying of off Snapchat, but I guess Instagram owns Snapchat.”
All in all, social media is something that can change the way someone acts and even what they say. It affects people in many ways, some good and some bad, as you just read. How does it affect you?
