My Thoughts on Social Media: LJ1

   As a member of Generation Z, I have watched social media has grow up with me. From the launch of Facebook in 2004 to now, I have seen it all. In my personal experience, I first branched into Instagram the summer before 6th grade. Even at the ripe age of 10 years old, I was not an early bloomer to this network- not even amongst children my own age. From there, I created my Snapchat account a little later in the year. The photography platform VSCO was also largely popular at the time and my presence on the site followed shortly after as well. Now in middle school, I mainly used these three mediums to communicate with friends and family. On my private account, I often shared pictures of trips I had been on, my favorite foods, and fun memories I had with my friends. I am a firm believer that this era of social media was by far the best. With nothing but good, light intentions behind posts at this time the purpose of connecting digitally with each other presented itself as creative and safe. 

    Currently, I have accounts on Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, VSCO, TikTok, and Pinterest. The majority of my accounts are now public with a few thousand followers on my more frequently used accounts (being Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok). I share less about my personal life on my more public accounts now as I have come to believe that there has been a shift in the way we as a society use social media. Even when scrolling through my feed, I find that I am more often than not trying to be sold something, be it a product or information. This new purpose of social media has corrupted it's original lighthearted use. I spend more time thinking before I post now and certainly post way less frequently- averaging out to about two posts a month on Instagram. Even now, I don't regret the way I first used social media, and I wish that we could see a push back to more of a casual feel on platforms as opposed to how materialistic it feels now. 

    Don't get me wrong, I still support social media as a means of self-expression. I follow accounts that specifically post artwork, makeup, photography, or other niche interests I enjoy viewing. But this does not mean I don't still follow my High School friends who post selfies and nights out- hey, sometimes I'll even throw in a like! Despite sometimes feeling the competitive nature, I have learned that most people just try to show the bests of themselves on their networks. Social Media in itself truly can be used however by whomever wants to. I don't believe it should be up to anyone else to dictate how one decides to use it as long as the posts are in order of the specific platform's community guidelines. At this point in time, I do not see myself quitting any forms of social media soon. It has been a long journey for me coming to a place where I feel confident and content with my platforms and I do not see myself changing much.