Much like the article about the 14-year-old girl and her online privacy, she mentioned that her school had someone come and talk about their online presence. In my middle school, we had the same thing. We would have someone come once a year to talk to all the students about their online profiles and ways to stay safe. Although mostly geared towards us feeling guilty about what we post, and not so much about staying safe from predators, the message came across loud and clear.
Thinking back on those talks we got once a year, I am glad we had them. I think it would have been wholly beneficial to have them in high school too, especially as a freshman. It would remind those 'bad teens' what to be vary of posting on their social media since many of us would be going to college a few years later and needed to maintain a reputation.
One of the biggest things, only looking back on it now though, I am grateful for is my mother not letting me have social media at all. There was no age where I was allowed to have it, so when I did get an instagram in about 6th/7th grade, my mom knew immediately and actually created an account to follow me to keep me in line. Now, I am a good student. Those talks we had in middle school scared me pretty good. I have a good head on my shoulders anyway and always knew how to be responsible, but my mom getting social media to track my social media did give me an extra edge that at the time I did not want. However, I am glad she did it because it did make me think twice even about the things I would say in my captions. A lot of the time she followed people I was also friends with to see what I would comment on their posts. I knew my language had to always be clean and my comments should always be positive, which should be the case regardless if your parents have social media.
It was ingrained in me at a young age to be wary of your online presence, from school to at home. When I first got a twitter freshman year of high school, my mother screamed at me and told me not only to deactivate the account, even though I NEVER posted on it, and delete the app. She really did not let me have any form of social media she did not approve of. Part of me thinks she just wanted me to delete it because she did not want to have to make a twitter and monitor me. Honestly, as angry as I was back then, I do not blame her now. I am happy I never was allowed to have any of that. It made me not care about social media in a time when that was the only thing anyone really cared about at my age.
Neither of my parents had facebook, and therefore neither did I. I never had the slightest desire to have a Facebook, and still dont, especially with how much they exploit everyone on it and all the dirt that is being surfaced about it. My younger brother is 17 now and he does not have a Facebook either. Much like the rest of my family, he has no desire for it.
Social media is also a huge waste of time and energy. Inevitably, you are going to wind up caring about how others view you on those apps and that can make you very self- conscious. IT ISNT WORTH IT! Do not let your view of yourself be dictated by numbers on the internet! It is so unhealthy and can really damage, at least girl's, self- confidence so much... and for what reason? misery? There are going to be times, in high school especially, where you are going to see things on social media that you dont ever want to see. Maybe someones naked pictures got leaked, maybe your friends are hanging out without you, maybe your boyfriend is seen fraternizing with other girls... you might as well save yourself and dodge that bullet when you can.
I do notice that social media has different phases. In middle school, its all very wholesome content. Pictures of your pets, your friends, maybe you at the school dance, things you may find on your mother's facebook page. Then come high school, shit hits the fan and social media gets really dark. We never used to have such a big problem with cyber bullying until this age of social media either. We entered an era where people think that they only need to fend for themselves when they should just be making friends, then instead wind up only making enemies and being miserable. Then the college phase of social media blossoms where everyone uses it to kind of flaunt where they are now- whether that is in a sorority or fraternity, vacationing somewhere expensive, doing charity work for Habit for Humanity, or just hyping their gorgeous friends up, to me it seems more wholesome. College kids are either in college now and have a way better sense of what they can and can't post, being a part of affiliations like greeklife that limit their involvement online, and being able to legally drink and post it appropriately are all good signs of a healthy college life that wont make you lose a job in the future. Yes, maybe college is a time to party and find yourself and make endless mistakes, but the goal of college is to further your education and get a stable career after you graduate and social media posts can ruin that, and I think people know that more at that age.
I can speak on how my social media presence has changed coming to college, especially being affiliated with a sorority. my sorority has a very strict social media policy; they make you sign a social media contract once you get initiated. It seems like the rules are insane and that you really are not allowed to post anything you want, but its all to promote positivity not only in the chapter, but in the world. At least Alpha Chi, they look out for you on social media, that is why there are such strict rules in place. They are there because they want you to succeed. Don't get me wrong, it is so easy to get angry at the standards board when they make you take down certain posts, however, it is important to not lose sight of why they care and what they are doing to make you better people. I learned recently, in chapter, that when interviewing for a big job, say for a corporation or big name brand, they can actually purchase your snapchat stories... and not just the recent ones, every single one of them. The whole history of things that are posted on your private and public snapchat stories can be bought by potential employers and can potentially make you lose your job if you are not smart about what you post.
My social media presence is almost nonexistent. I use my instagram once every six months and I post basically only sorority pictures in formal wear. On my story I will post Alpha Chi affiliated tags or birthday posts, and that is it. Maybe a nice concert video or beach wave crashing down here and there, but nothing that you can't find stock images of online. I have snapchat, and I send a snapchat to everyone basically once a day. I never post on my snap story unless it is similar to the content I post on my instagram story. Snapchat and Instagram are the only two social medias I own and have accounts for, and I have every intention of keeping it that way. I really do not care about my presence on either of them. I don't feel the need to post on there excessively, if at all, and everything I post I know if I showed it to my grandma and grandpa, they would think it is not only appropriate, but cute and innocent. That is exactly the way I want it. All my accounts are private, and I never give out any of my personal information other than the school I go to on my instagram. My last name is not even in my bio. I don't need people finding me and I do not need anyone knowing any of my personal information; it is personal for a reason.
In the end, this world is crazy honestly. You need to live your life, no matter how crazy it is, but people dont need to see it. You do not need to broadcast it to the whole world. If anything, being mysterious online and private is the best thing you can do for yourself. Make sure all your accounts are private, don't post anything your boss would not want to see, and be smart about the things you say when you are online. Having an instagram and posting an appropriate bikini picture, you and your girlfriends at the sorority formal, you and your boyfriend on a Valentines dinner date, or even a birthday shoutout are things that are okay to post about. However, if you want to get blackout drunk every weekend because that is your business, although I am in no way recommending that, then go ahead. Just don't post it anywhere and dont let your friends post it anywhere either. Those pictures and videos are for you and your friends to look back on IN PRIVATE. Show the world your sophisticated side through social media, and then live your life however you want to outside of that. We dont all need to, nor want to keep tabs on your, nor do we care!
Just be safe and smart... you and the world need it.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90315706/kids-parents-social-media-sharing
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/01/facebook-users-still-dont-know-how-facebook-works/580546/
https://www.fastcompany.com/section/the-privacy-divide
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/04/facebook-asked-some-users-for-their-email-passwords-because-why-not/
No comments:
Post a Comment