Social Media could be overplayed.
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Put your phone down. Social media is dead. At least that’s what – ironically enough – is trending on social media right now.
We decided to look at all sides of the ongoing social media debate: the good, the bad, and what comes next in the way we communicate online. While no one can predict the future, there are so many changes in social media right now, it’s only a matter of time before the TikTok watch stops.
Let’s start with the good: Social media is still a tool that connects teens with friends and communities all over the world. It opens doors to information and opportunities. Creativity still thrives as teens highlight talents and seek to connect with people who have the same interests we do.
In a way, senior Lilyana Taveras sees a mirror image of herself in the social media posts she looks at, To Taveras, social media serves as more than simple self-expression.
“I go online and I see people that can relate to me,” she said. “I see In things that maybe I’ve done that I didn’t like, or things that I wear, and things that I might just enjoy. I see other people ‘liking’ the same things and enjoying it. That makes me feel like I’m not alone.”
Freshman Vyanh Nguyen makes a connection – like many other teens – that social media can have a big influence on self-esteem.
“When I post on Instagram and I get compliments, it makes me feel better about myself.”
A recent survey conducted by Pew Research found that most teens feel like they have deeper connections and have more support in their daily lives because of social media. But the same survey showed that 41 percent of teens say social media has had a “mostly negative” effect on other teens they know, and/or themselves.
Unlike: The Unsolved Social Media Threats
The same threats people have been talking about for years (teens and adults alike) are still around: the cyberbullying, the “influencers” who make us feel bad about ourselves in some way, and the phone addiction many have (but won’t admit), That all adds up to a pile of issues society is still sorting through.
Even the inventors of social media services are stumped, and some states (Florida included) might ban teens from using any kind of social media at all.
Utah, Florida, Montana and Arkansas are in court now over whether banning TikTok and other social media takes away teens’ Freedom of Speech.
The leaders of TikTok, Meta and X had a meeting with Congress where they tried to defend social media use.. Parents of teens who were cyberbullied were there to tell their stories. One parent said her child “got sucked into a black hole of content” about anorexia and almost starved herself to death.
Just Who Is In Charge?
Social media companies say teens’ parents are responsible for the bad things that are posted online. They say it’s up to them to watch over what their teenagers see.
Many parents disagree. The ones who went to the meeting with Congress say it’s up to the social media companies to protect teens. These parents said if there were no social media, teens wouldn’t be able to read or watch negative posts.
Junior Jamal Bennet explains that everyone – teens and parents alike – should always keep in mind that what people post on social media isn’t always what it seems; the only life we know to be true is our own.
“Social media has been overdone in the past. A lot of people want to show off their incredible lifestyles, and some people think they would love to have these people’s lives without understanding the truth about what goes on behind closed doors and in Instagram photos,”
Bennet said. “Individuals should just accept who they are, stop attempting to compare themselves to others, and stop striving so hard to be like other people. I believe social media is overdone because of this.”
Addiction and Violence
If you have walked into any classroom at Creek, it’s obvious that social media addiction is alive and (un-) well. It’s hard to find any hard data on phone addiction since the definition of “addiction” depends on the source you are looking at. But teachers will tell you all about how students are so distracted. Teens on social media will tell you why.
“It’s the constant notifications, the ‘likes,’ and messages that make it so addictive,” said senior Mckeavan Bell, “Especially for people that like to express themselves because some people can’t express themselves in real life.”
Both the addiction and the violence takes its toll. Some teens think its time for some change.
“Social media is over-played, said senior Jayden Anglin. I think it is because people focus too much on it – specifically teens – and its very distracting.”
“It’s sensationalized,” Amanzio said.” Taking videos and posting them on social media has become more of a priority for people rather than breaking up a fight. It makes the bystander not innocent anymore, which makes the bystander just as guilty.”
Not only are students who fight all over social media,. Now you’re seeing students look like they would. Suddenly it’s good for students to look bad. TV and movie characters are people they look up to, and the characters are looked at like idols.
“Some people consider themselves gangsters and it is a bad influence on the youth,” said sophomore Andrew Stickkney. “They go and get on social media and see these violent things like guns and fights and kids start acting like that. I don’t want that for kids.”
