MollyMonahan

We live in a society focused around social media. Society today has turned away from what is now considered “old fashioned ways.” From the first invention of the mobile phone in 1973, technology has shaped younger generations who now could not tell a boombox from a typewriter.  

With the power of the whole internet in the hands of people, the possibilities are endless. However, change can bring some bad. Although social media can be used for making friends, sharing a cute video of your dog, or opening people’s minds, it can also have a never- ending downside of fake news, bullying, and status consumption.

Social media apps like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat have become huge outlets for sharing. The most popular with Generation Z or your college kid, high schoolers, and middle school kids, is by far Snapchat and Instagram. Twitter appeals more toward the older Generation A’s and millennials (ranging from people born in 1981 to 1996). The app Facebook is more accustomed to moms posting their kids, college finding, and people trying to stay in touch. 

High schoolers right now can be completely held captive by social media standards. Most teens today are overwhelmed by wondering if they have enough followers on Instagram, have a high enough Snapchat score, if their follower to following ratio is even and if they are considered “popular” by social media standards.

However, this is not completely true for all teenagers, especially boys. Girls seem to care about how they are perceived on their social media more than guys. It is more standard for guys to be considered attractive, even if their only social media post is them holding a fish when they were 13. In a girls case, it is almost considered uncommon or rare to not have recent updates on her instagram, and therefore, she is considered “unpopular”. 

This common perception of popularity through social media is why people instantly notice if they lose a follower on Instagram, or if they notice one person who they have known for a long time does not follow them back. Freshman Phoebe Meier said, “I think a following is a big deal to some people. Maybe if they don’t have a big following they feel as if they are not “popular”. If you have a bigger following you could feel more confident and put yourself above people with a smaller following.”