"Social media is not something you like or don’t like, it’s too big a part of our culture. It’s way too broad a spectrum."
As little kids our relationships were face to face. Communication with friends took place during recess, and notes would be passed between desks during class. Growing up and getting our own phones, we gained the benefit of texting. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Tumblr, and Yik Yak give us even more ways of communication, allowing us to see what is going on in the world around us from our bedrooms. We can play games with our friends, even if they live on the other side of the world, and are able to maintain relationships with those who we see only once each year.
Nowadays, if you don’t have a smartphone, or a number of social media accounts, you are out of the loop. It is nearly impossible to know what is going on with people unless you see a status update. Gossip is done more online rather than in person, and friendships don’t require meeting one another. But is social media good for our generation, or is it slowly causing us to be less personal with one another?
Nowadays, if you don’t have a smartphone, or a number of social media accounts, you are out of the loop. It is nearly impossible to know what is going on with people unless you see a status update. Gossip is done more online rather than in person, and friendships don’t require meeting one another. But is social media good for our generation, or is it slowly causing us to be less personal with one another?
Max Berk-Wakeman: Social media is not something you like or don’t like, it’s too big a part of our culture. It’s way too broad a spectrum.
Yik Yak OSA Telegraph: What are your opinions on social media?
Julia Franks: I think social media is fine up to a certain extent. Obviously if it’s patronizing someone or saying something mean about someone that’s not okay. It’s good to be able to connect with other friends, especially if you’re leaving or going to college so that you can maintain that connection. A lot of our parents and stuff, you know, found friends from high school and you know it’s kinda nice to see where they are. But to a certain level teenagers can get very caught up into it and it’s not really, it’s not like you’re interacting with people. Well you are interacting with people, but you’re not like, actually interacting with them. I think kids get really caught up into it. It’s just not very good.
OT: What social media do you participate in?
JF: Instagram, but I don’t do social media too much. I think Instagram, Facebook. I don’t do Twitter, because I don’t know. I just don’t feel the need to like, say every single thing in my life. That’s like it.
OSA: And then, how often do you use social media?
JF: Like Facebook probably once or twice a week. The good thing about Facebook is friends, since one of the colleges I got accepted into, they have a Facebook group. So you can actually meet the kids who are going to your school before hand which is actually kinda nice. That’s what I’m there for. And then Instagram it’s probably way more, probably five times a day. I check it when I’m bored.
Julia Franks: I think social media is fine up to a certain extent. Obviously if it’s patronizing someone or saying something mean about someone that’s not okay. It’s good to be able to connect with other friends, especially if you’re leaving or going to college so that you can maintain that connection. A lot of our parents and stuff, you know, found friends from high school and you know it’s kinda nice to see where they are. But to a certain level teenagers can get very caught up into it and it’s not really, it’s not like you’re interacting with people. Well you are interacting with people, but you’re not like, actually interacting with them. I think kids get really caught up into it. It’s just not very good.
OT: What social media do you participate in?
JF: Instagram, but I don’t do social media too much. I think Instagram, Facebook. I don’t do Twitter, because I don’t know. I just don’t feel the need to like, say every single thing in my life. That’s like it.
OSA: And then, how often do you use social media?
JF: Like Facebook probably once or twice a week. The good thing about Facebook is friends, since one of the colleges I got accepted into, they have a Facebook group. So you can actually meet the kids who are going to your school before hand which is actually kinda nice. That’s what I’m there for. And then Instagram it’s probably way more, probably five times a day. I check it when I’m bored.
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From Elena's Instagram OSA Telegraph: What about social media do you not like?
Elena Ruiz: I feel like social media can be especially negative because the things that are put on there are the things that we see in the media today projected on tv. Just these standards of beauty, and I know that I’ve deleted my social medias multiple times because of becoming really insecure with lifestyle and image. Which is ridiculous because it’s based off of so little but can have such a huge impact on how you see things. At times I’ll look at people’s profiles and go “man”. It’s almost you’re envious in a way, but it still really brings down your self confidence.
It doesn’t really become for you anymore, it’s “oh everyone should go like what I’m doing”. That way you don’t feel that you’re not a part of what everyone else is doing. It’s become sort of a nosy thing because you’re checking other people’s pages and seeing what they’re doing. It’s really weird to me. It’s going into someone’s life that you may not even know.
OT: You said you’ve deleted social media multiple times. Does that mean that you’ve reactivated it?
ER: Yeah, it was feeling that I was outside of the loop. I don’t really feel like people will necessarily share stuff in real life. Instead they’ll go on Instagram and post to their like Tumblr and things like that. And so I also felt I was finding a lot of creative things, cause I had a Tumblr but I deleted it. And I would just look at a lot of stuff and be introduced to new things but also I don’t want people to judge me based on my Tumblr. I don’t want to feel like I have to make it so perfect as to reflect myself.
OT: Do you feel pressured to have social media?
ER: Yeah, I do feel pressured to have social media from my peers. I’ve had multiple Instagrams and deleted them. And then I go back because it’s like “oh, did you hear about such and such” or “did you see what such and such posted”, and I was like “no, I don’t have that”. So it’s just some things that you can’t find out.
Elena Ruiz: I feel like social media can be especially negative because the things that are put on there are the things that we see in the media today projected on tv. Just these standards of beauty, and I know that I’ve deleted my social medias multiple times because of becoming really insecure with lifestyle and image. Which is ridiculous because it’s based off of so little but can have such a huge impact on how you see things. At times I’ll look at people’s profiles and go “man”. It’s almost you’re envious in a way, but it still really brings down your self confidence.
It doesn’t really become for you anymore, it’s “oh everyone should go like what I’m doing”. That way you don’t feel that you’re not a part of what everyone else is doing. It’s become sort of a nosy thing because you’re checking other people’s pages and seeing what they’re doing. It’s really weird to me. It’s going into someone’s life that you may not even know.
OT: You said you’ve deleted social media multiple times. Does that mean that you’ve reactivated it?
ER: Yeah, it was feeling that I was outside of the loop. I don’t really feel like people will necessarily share stuff in real life. Instead they’ll go on Instagram and post to their like Tumblr and things like that. And so I also felt I was finding a lot of creative things, cause I had a Tumblr but I deleted it. And I would just look at a lot of stuff and be introduced to new things but also I don’t want people to judge me based on my Tumblr. I don’t want to feel like I have to make it so perfect as to reflect myself.
OT: Do you feel pressured to have social media?
ER: Yeah, I do feel pressured to have social media from my peers. I’ve had multiple Instagrams and deleted them. And then I go back because it’s like “oh, did you hear about such and such” or “did you see what such and such posted”, and I was like “no, I don’t have that”. So it’s just some things that you can’t find out.
OSA Telegraph: What about social media don’t you like?
Sally Lao: I feel like people should live their lives instead of always needing to update constantly. Plus, who really cares? I don’t find the importance of always looking at what you’ve eaten unless you’re sharing it with me. I don’t care.
OT: What social media do you use?
SL: I have a tumblr, and that’s kind of it. I have a facebook, but that’s basically void, and a snapchat
OT: How often do you use them?
SL: Tumblr maybe once a week and facebook, maybe… I haven’t put anything on there since last year. And then snapchat because other people use snapchat, so I feel obligated to.
OT: Do you feel a lot of pressure to use social media?
SL: Snapchat. Just for communication. Even texting, but at least on snapchat, you can do a video to get your point across quicker. It sucks because your friends can see when you view it, therefore you have to answer immediately.
Sally Lao: I feel like people should live their lives instead of always needing to update constantly. Plus, who really cares? I don’t find the importance of always looking at what you’ve eaten unless you’re sharing it with me. I don’t care.
OT: What social media do you use?
SL: I have a tumblr, and that’s kind of it. I have a facebook, but that’s basically void, and a snapchat
OT: How often do you use them?
SL: Tumblr maybe once a week and facebook, maybe… I haven’t put anything on there since last year. And then snapchat because other people use snapchat, so I feel obligated to.
OT: Do you feel a lot of pressure to use social media?
SL: Snapchat. Just for communication. Even texting, but at least on snapchat, you can do a video to get your point across quicker. It sucks because your friends can see when you view it, therefore you have to answer immediately.
