How media plays a role in my life

I remember when I was in elementary school and my mom got the first iPhone to come out. This was huge, and now I am twenty years old and iPhone just launched its fourteenth Phone. Growing up I was lucky enough to have a mother who wouldn’t allow me to have social media accounts such as Facebook, and Instagram so there aren’t too many embarrassing photos of me online. Back then of course I would ask her all the time, but now that I am older I am thankful I didn’t have access to the internet in the palm of my hands as a child. The internet is an amazing tool, but it can also be extremely dangerous. When I was in high school and was allowed to have social media such as Instagram and Snapchat I was completely distracted from the real world. Cyberbullying was a serious thing and body image for a teen girl in high school was challenging. My parents were always watching over my socials so if you look me up on the internet, there aren’t any pictures and the only thing that comes up is my LinkedIn. Part of this is also because I have an extremely common name.

 Technology is filled with wonderful abilities and social Media is used to connect with friends and family from all around the world and grant access to all kinds of information. It is also the new way of marketing for businesses all around the world. I found a love for social media and its ability to be a tool in my day to day life. If I want hear about something on the news, I go to social media to try to find videos and more information about what’s going on. One time I lost my passport on campus and someone found it and direct messaged me on Instagram to return it. Last week, I got a dog kennel off of the Facebook market place. I have grown up with social media, so I am lucky enough to know how it works and to also be aware of the dark side it comes with. I try not to spend a lot of time on my phone or sitting around watching TV. My brother however, will lock himself in his room and play video games all throughout the night and then sleep all throughout the day. It’s important to be active and to be mindful of not putting out too much information out there where everyone can see it. I know when I worked in a nursing home, I had to assist a lot of the patients with their accounts on their phones and had to tell a lot of them to not give their information out to spam calls and emails. A rapper I listen to was shot because his girlfriend posted where they were eating. Hackers can access emails and even bank accounts. I think with artificial intelligence is advancing every day and don’t see that changing in the future. Though it is taking people’s jobs I think it is also granting new opportunities if you know how to balance media from the real world. Some things I pay attention to are things like not giving out my information, not posting thing I don’t want everyone to see, and always fact checking the information I receive and being sure to stay interacted with the real world by not having my phone while I eat or talk with others. I think it’s important we teach our next generation the dangers with videos such as the ones we watched in class FUTURAMA and Tears for Fears. 

Everyone has a right to their own privacy and social media a lot of the time takes advantage of people. If you post something to the internet it is there forever whether that was your intention or not. I read an article provided on the class blog called I'm 14 and I quit social media after discovering what was posted about me. A young girl shares her story of finding out about everything that was on the internet about her life when she was given access to it at the age of thirteen. The young girl says "I had just turned 13, and I thought I was just beginning my public online life, when in fact there were hundreds of pictures and stories of me that, would live on the internet forever, whether I wanted it to be or not, and I didnt have control over it. I was furious; I felt betrayed and lied to." She felt her privacy had been violated, which it had. There were dozens of pictures of her posted on the internet that she never even knew existed. One important thing that she said that really stood out to me was how "Teens get a lot of warnings that we aren't mature enough to understand that everything we post online is permanent, but parents should also reflect about their use of social media and how it could potentially impact their children's lives as we become young adults." I think it is important to give your children restrictions on the internet and to teach them balance from a young age especially because they are the future and as technology is advancing they need to learn to live in a world that isn't just an iPad or tablet. It is just as important to their social skills and development as it is to their overall health.