Social Media: A Day in Q's Life

 Social media has taken the world by storm. In my life time, I never thought I would see so many faces buried into the screens of computers and smart phones. Although I come from the generation of kids who played outside and used their imaginations, I, too, have become enthralled with being online and chatting with others.

On a daily basis, I use different forms of social media. For instance, I use Slack to communicate with my coworkers and teammates. From the time I start my day in the morning, until the time I leave work, I am constantly being pinged or messaged about something. I even get pinged when others are conversing with each other, but not to me. Before and after work, I check Facebook (FB) messages and make posts. FB is downloaded as an app on my phone, so I am constantly pinged on my phone after work. Now that I think about it, I don't get much of a break from social media, although I really only visit the one site for personal consumption.

When on FB, I only typically find myself feeling negatively when I see posts that don't align with my core values. Any type of abuse of others, disrespectful behavior, or opinions that serve individuals instead of all mankind, are distasteful to me. I don't get angry, but I tend to steer my attention away from those. On another note, I do find myself very satisfied with the connections I make on FB. I have connected with long-lost family members, old friends, and even high school classmates. It's refreshing to catch up with people, especially since I no longer live in the town I grew up in.

One of the drawbacks [to being a social media user] is being inundated with advertisements and calls to action. Because I visit occasional websites directly from my social media page, I receive offers to buy OFTEN. Some of the offers have been quite enticing, as the ads are typically tailored to what I have previously shown interest in. The thing is, when we buy, companies always ask for an email address. This creates a completely new avenue for the marketers to reach us. I send at least ten marketing emails each day to my spam folder, delete others, and glance at the rest. I rarely buy, though.

What I notice most about the use of social media today is its impact on mental health. With the advent of cyber bullying, predatory marketing, and account hacking, there is no wonder people are always on high alert. It is important to instill positive self-reflection into our young people, and to teach them how to handle untoward occurrences online. Hopefully, this can help reduce the number of social media related self-harm or harm to others. The craving for attention, or clout, as the younger generation calls it, is also driving people to do unthinkable acts in exchange for likes and follows on their platform. This is creating social capital for them, but after a couple years, they all tend to crash and burn. That's when social media stars begin to think of themselves as victims of the culture.

Qiana "Q" Harvelle

MKT-265