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My Online Presence

I think social media is an amazing thing, and I am not afraid to admit that I am an active user of many different platforms including Facebook, Instagram, snapchat, twitter, Linkdin, and pintrest. I love to share my life on the internet. However, I do so tastefully and in a smart way. I do not let random people follow/friend me, I limit the amount of personal information I give out, and I keep my accounts private.

From the time social media was in its infant stages and my parents were just starting to allow me to have accounts, my mom was always breathing down my neck about being safe and posting the right things. This included picture with alcohol/parties, respecting my body and how much skin was showing, nothing derogatory, and nothing political.  In high school, I would sometimes get annoyed with her because I wanted to post a cute picture of myself out with friends and she would tell me to delete it. However, now being in college and being in the professional world I am so happy she did. Today, when I see kids in high school posting videos of them doing drugs or drinking on the internet for everyone to see, it blows my mind because they don't grasp the concept that it is there forever!!

Like I said, I am very active on social media and like many teens, I am somewhat "addicted". I am guilty of always taking pictures for instagram, posting pictures of my food , taking silly videos of my friends etc. However, I post things for the memories and to share with friends and family. I like to look back at my pictures on my instagram and facebook accounts because all of my posts are of happy./appropriate things (prom, graduation, starting college, sorority events, etc).

I also really like social media for networking and job purposes. I think Linkdin is such a great resource especially for college students like myself looking for jobs and connections. I also think other websites like blogs and personal sites are great ways to network yourself and standout to potential employers.

However, I do think social media is toxic. Sometimes it can be online cyber bullying among school kids or it can go as far as identity theft and data collection. As I mentioned in class, my dad loved the amazon alexas when they first came out. He bought them on a black-friday sale and was so excited to set them up in his office and our family room. He mainly just used Alexa for silly things like "What is the temperature outside" "how much snow will we get in ski country on Saturday" and things like that. We had the alexas in our house for maybe 6months or so and then my dad saw a news story about Alexas tracking your conversations. After typing in the devices serial numbers online, my dad was able to listen to every conversation he had while the alexa was on. When he would ask about the weather it recorded my mom talking in the background and was collecting info on where we live and our town. It is very scary to think that such a cool device that everyone put in their homes was basically just a spy for companies to gather our information.

Going off of the question if social media can make someone lonely or depressed- yes 100%. People always joke about "FOMO" and stuff, but it was really can impact someone. For example, the only girl not invited to a middle school sleepover sees the pictures online- may not seem like a big deal but over time it can effect her. Or an insecure girl battling an eating disorder sees pictures of skinny, unrealistic models on her timeline- is she gonna get help for herself or compare herself to the unhealthy models being plastered everywhere? I dont think social media is the route of all evil but it hasn't helped either. I know many people, myself included who looked down on themselves or tried to be something they aren't because they want to keep up with the appearance they see on their screens and the images being promoted by companies and celebrities.

I think that our society is just so accustom to life with social media that many of us dont know what life is like without it or cant remember what it was like. Because of that, we dont always make the best choices and share more information than we should. Even though there are a lot of drawbacks to it, social media is truly such a powerful tool. It is a news source, a way for people to connect, a way to find a new job, a way to stay in touch, a way to laugh, and way to see whats happening all over the world. I just wish more people, especially teenagers would have more common sense about what they post and share, because once its out there, its out there forever.


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