Social Media is described in the dictionary as websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. Although many people choose to look at the negative impacts brought into our lives due to Social Media and has also brought several positives especially to students like me. Social Media has played a vital role in my life from the task as simple as keeping me updated on school activities to things as important as college application deadlines and scholarships. It seems that everyone and everything around us are connected through some form of Social Media platform. Social Media serves us as a way to stay in touch with family and friends, an educational tool to help us stay informed on activities, college applications, and scholarships, a way to stay informed on issues happening in the world around us and even as a way to promote and market.
When the topic of Social Media is brought up the first claim people make is that due to Social Media we are losing contact with the people around us. This, in fact, is not true, with how busy everyone’s lives are it would be extremely difficult to try and manage work, school, homework, and other activities on top trying to keep connections without a little help. Social Media has made keeping in contact with thousands of people simple. As you scroll through your feed you are able to see that Aunt Sara just finished remodeling her kitchen or that your cousins on the other side of the world just graduated. It doesn’t stop there either, through Social Media you can respond to this post and show them love, support or how they made you laugh regardless of distance. In my opinion, Social Media is bringing us closer than ever. In response to this, some might say that although we are connected virtually we are losing the ability to connect physically and emotionally with someone because Social Media can’t provide the same connection. This is only true if we take the use of Social Media to the extreme but for an average teenager like me, Social Media is not the only way we interact with one another. Social Media is just a way to keep ties during the time we can’t be face to face.
Social Media can also serve as an educational tool. If you notice most schools in Palm Beach County and South Florida, in general, are linked to some form of social media. My school uses there Social Media platform to post updates on what is going on campus, how various sports teams did and even holiday updates. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times school was canceled for one reason or another and Social Media helped make sure I was informed. Social Media can also serve as an educational tool when it comes to college applications and scholarships. As I mentioned earlier since most schools have Social Media and they post a lot about admissions and scholarship opportunities available to make sure this information reaches students interested. It takes longer to sign in to a school’s website, finding their admissions section and finding a deadline rather than just having it pop up on your feed. Same thing goes for scholarships, the ultimate goal is to fill out as many scholarships you can find and qualify for. Through social media, you are able to follow specific accounts dedicated to posting scholarship updates and check the requirements all in one simple click.
Today it is very difficult to find a busy student that has time to sit down and watch the news, thankfully Social Media has become another way that students are able to stay informed on what is happening in the world around them. Although some Social Media platforms are better for finding news most if not all Social Media platforms have some news content. From facebook lives documenting things as they’re happening to someone on your feed posting about how they feel about an issue, there is no doubt that if you are signed into a form of Social Media you will be informed. Social Media has made it easy to just pull out your phone while you’re waiting in line or have just a few seconds of downtime and find out what is happening all around the world. This allows students to have intellectual conversations about issues they feel passionate it about with others who feel just as passionate.
Before Social Media marketing and promoting yourself was extremely difficult and costly. To get your name out there you had to pay hundreds in advertising or go out and try and talk to strangers. Although these methods are still effective and still give results Social Media has created an easy inexpensive, sometimes an even free way of marketing and promoting yourself or your brand. As a youth philanthropist Social Media has allowed me to share what I have been doing in my community every step of the way and even inspire others. It has also provided hundreds of opportunities and partnerships that would have never been possible if I didn’t use social media. Any successful business or organization has a Social Media account to help promote deals, event, and progress.
Social Media has gained a bad reputation in the eyes of many but the reality of it is that in the modern world Social Media is one of the best tools a student can have. Social Media has not only made it easier for us to keep in touch with friends and family all over the world but it has also made it simpler to keep up with school activities, college application scholarships opportunities and even with issues happening all around the world. Social Media has become a vital tool in our society and rather than focusing on the negative impacts brought by it we should use them for all the good they are able to provide for us.
