In today’s world, using social media has become the norm. Everyone has a social media application whether that be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat or others. The targeted audience for these platforms is teenagers. Teenagers are impressionable and what they see on social media could influence how they perceive reality.
Social media was made for the purpose of humans to interact with each other no matter the distance. This can be seen as positive to why social media is a good thing to have. Senior Jonathan Martija agrees that it has provided him the opportunity to communicate with people far and wide.
“I have Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. I have these apps because a lot of my family and friends have it, so I have it to connect with them,” Martija said.
Social media also can be good for memories. Facebook notifies the user of previous posts, “friendiversaries,” and even locations visited. Goodreads keeps track of books read. Instagram and others also keep things for the user’s posterity.
“Personally, I don’t think it’s a distraction from my life because you choose when to use it. I like it because you can look back on the things you’ve done and see all the memories you’ve created,” Senior Catherine Nguyen said.
Although there are pros to having social media, some Colts are not fans.
“I think social media is mainly negative as it creates unrealistic standards. It makes us delusional in terms of goals and such because we compare [our own] to what we see online. Luckily, I grew out of being persuaded with what I see online,” Junior Amran Nahar said.
Social media is like an endless portal. This could cause many distractions in the lives of teenagers. Not knowing when to power off the phone can get in the way of self-esteem and sleep issues.
“People, especially teenagers, tend to overuse social media. The overuse of it can cause a lack of sleep in teenagers making them tired and lazy all the time,” Senior Kimberlie Antiojo said.
Since social media is part of a lot of people’s lives, it is good to be aware of the negative effects that come with something that was made for a positive purpose.
