ISU-Miranda

Enabling or Disabling:

It Is All About How You Use It

 

Technology advances every day, so it would only make sense that social media advances as well. It seems as if our generation can not survive without phones or laptops, and majority of teens have at least one form of social media whether it be instagram, twitter or facebook. Social media helps people feel connected to one another and change someone's life for the better, but when it is abused it can ruin some lives… or take them.

When using social media posts and photos can be spread so quickly, which can cause both  negative and positive affects. The screenshot (right) is a good side of social networking by trying to help others. The advertisement shown is American Cancer Society asking for donations using “ Whose Birthdays Will You SAVE” as the heart tugging slogan and in the bottom right corn facebook has created  a donate

button.  

By making this easy to help, many people can hopefully participate and it can change people's lives in quite a tremendous way. As well as making it easy to donate, by posting the ad on facebook, people who may not be able to donate can easily share the ad so all friends and family can see.

In the same way that social networking has helped many people through the spread of online charity, it has also helped people start a career. Many people get discovered via YouTube. Justin Bieber's career was started because of his videos being found on YouTube. As well as YouTube, Vine has now been know for starting singing careers most popular is Shawn Mendes. As well as making people popstar dreams come true it has also given the opportunity for young girls to meet their favorite “viners” such as Cameron Dallas, Nash Grier and Carter Reynolds. Unlike YouTube and Vine, Twitter and Instagram do not make as many people famous, but instead it allows the fans of those individuals to be more connected by following along with what their idols are tweeting and posting on a day to day basis.

In contrast to social media always being a positive and helpful tool, it can also be used for some of the worst things. In the photo (left) the man in the mask holding the laptop shows the vast ways in which you can be scammed. Teens are very willing to give out personal information at the click of a button, whether it be for online shopping and giving credit card number and other personal information or telling the cute boy/girl that messaged you where you live. By doing this you can be put into difficult and or dangerous situations with identity theft, fraud or someone stalking you.     

In addition to bad things happening to you, the internet for some can be an escape from the world for a little while but to others when they go online things only become worse. In the photo (right) is Amanda Todd, most people know about her story about how a picture of her breasts were spread around by a boy she was talking to via skype . Due to social media photos spread like wildfire so in a short amount of time the picture was everywhere, causing a tremendous amount of bullying, resulting in the young girl taking her own life. You always hear parents or grandparents saying “ when i was a kid you could go home and the noise would stop” but now we can not get away from it ever, causing depression and in the worst case suicide.  


All in all, social media obviously has both positive and negative effects on one another. Whether it affects you positively or negatively majority of the time up to you, if you choose to be careful with what you do or not.