Milly Henry
People use social media to connect with friends and meet new ones, they also use it to keep in touch with family members that they might not otherwise. The top three most popular Social Media platforms are Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. We use YouTube to watch other people doing things we like, for example we can watch tutorials to learn how do something or we could watch a ‘vlog’ (video blog) of someone (a vlogger) doing something in their day. On Facebook we can look at what other people are up to, we can chat with people we know and people we don’t.
Social media can have a positive impact on us, however, on the other hand it can also have the opposite effect. ‘Cyber Bullying’ is on the rise and is becoming increasingly popular within youths. Often people are cyber bullied and sometimes strangers may even ask users to meet up with them and so there is a possibility of them being at risk of danger if they agree. Cyber bullying can be classed as a crime in some areas and if caught then the culprit can even face ‘jail time’. People are able to share what they are doing and contact friends and family on social media but it’s very important to be safe!
One of the most popular social media sites, particularly for the younger generation, is Instagram. Instagram is an online social service which allows users to share images and videos either publicly or privately. As of recently, a huge craze for gaining ‘followers’ and/or likes on pictures has come about, however I must ask “Why?”. To feel popular? To feel wanted? To get a ‘buzz’ from seeing others liking your posts? To share common interests with people? Or do they just enjoy making videos and posting pictures and expressing their creativity?
But…it can become addictive! What you must ask yourself is “Do you really want to check the amount of likes you gain every two minutes? Is that really what’s important? Wouldn’t you rather be with your “real” friends rather than virtual ones? Does it interfere with your homework and other chores?”. If these are the sort of questions which ponder your mind whilst using social media, you may want to reconsider using it so much. It’s important to limit time on social media rather than letting it consume all your free time. Don’t succumb to the addiction.
So go check out my Instagram account “@abcdefg” the more followers the better. Only joking…of course!
