By Nicole Pasterczyk
Click. Her video is posted. Sitting inat her seat, she sends her video to the boundless virtual world of YouTube. She taps her feet nervously as she ponders whether showing the true colors of her personality is the right choice. What will the people at school think? Will I look insane? The thought of deleting the video seems attractive, yet her gut tugs her into the direction of bravery. Taking a deep breath, she walks away from the computer and allows the world to view her for who she is. Little did she know that her boldness and diversity on YouTube would lead a following of twelve million people. Little did she know her funny videos would be the sunshine for those who were left trodding in the clouds. Little did she know her influence on the entire world. This was the first video post of Lily Singh, or as many like to call her, iiSuperWomanii. She was only twenty-two and she still thrives today. Social media is undeniably influential. With the power to demolish some and inspire others, it has been up for debate since its beginning. Though social media is a universal quarrel, it is in great effect in our own Wilson community. To investigate whether social media is truly a uniter or a daily abuser, I decided to ask a few of our own Wilson peers. One student that believed that social media was truly valuable was Amaya Shah. As a freshman, she stated, “I think it’s just a good thing overall because you can stay in touch with people, such as through facebook who live far away or even on Snapchat. On Snapchat I get to know what’s going on around the world and keep up with important events.” Another freshman student, Sanchita Bhusari, brought up a similar view, “It’s a great way of communication and a great way of knowing the events going on in the community and getting more information off of it.” Shah and Bhusari bring up a reasonable views with connecting the world and our communities. In recent events such as Hurricane Irma and Harvey, there was an enormous amount of devastation brought upon the world. By being able to message and post, foundations and charities quickly formed to help these people in dire need. By being interconnected, we are able to help those in need when the time occurs through a tap on a screen. Reaching millions of hands to others is a definite benefit of social media, yet it also can be helpful to creating new friendships. Samantha Singleton stated, “I’m able to talk to people I don’t normally do on Snapchat and I get to meet new people and talk to more people.” Singleton’s statement is an opinion that various students share throughout the school, and even around the nation. As discovered by www.pewinternet.org, seven out of 10 teens believe that social media connects them to new friends and helps them find new feelings. Through meeting new people, another 68% support the fact that these social platforms helps friends communicate when problems arise and they can solve problems together. Clearly, social media can unite our own peers in just seconds. Though many believe that social media is a great gift to our generation, many also share views that are negative towards it. Many of those students are situated in our own school, such as Alina Rodriguez, a freshman at Wilson. “Social media helps you connect to people and make new friends,” she states, “but you compare the lows of your life to the highs of other people’s lives and it can damage your self confidence.” Zoe Peterson, also a freshman at our high school, has a similar stance: “It might be good to connect with people you don’t see, like your friends and family across the globe, but you still aren’t seeing them. You’re not interacting with them, you’re just seeing what they want people to think about their life. They’re manipulating their image and editing their video in a way so that people like them and for not in a way they are.” These two students bring up views that can question the positives of social media. As Rodriguez states, these platforms can make us compare our lives to others—and not necessarily in optimistic ways. More than half of all social media users feel isolated when they view posts that they are not included in. This sense of loneliness can lead to larger issues, such as becoming a target for cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can soon lead to a sense of depression, and if it becomes extreme, some victims, such as Tina Meler, end up taking away their own lives. Social media is often the place for exclusion, but Peterson brings up another serious effect of social media: manipulation. As people have always been insecure for various reasons, some believe that social media can be the cure. By photographing themselves in unrealistic poses, situations and personalities, many feel that their insecurities are dissolved, however, they are accentuated when this occurs. Around three- quarters of people notice that others act fake when posting on media, and this number is soon to grow. It is evident that social media isn’t always as friendly as it seems, and it can have an enormous effect on ourselves and how we view each other. It is obvious that social media presents both vital positives but also demoralizing negatives. With the ability to save the needy and interconnect us, it also manages to diminish our confidence as well as change our personalities for the worse. With these effects flourishing, social media often becomes a game of tug-and-war—one that constantly pulls in opposite directions never ceases to end. With such an influential power underneath the tips of our fingers, we must ask ourselves: will we use our power to the fullest, or will we abuse it in a way that destroys the lives of us all? Photos Courtesy Of: www.emergentdigital.com and www.makeawebsitehub.com
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Elena Caputo
Hi! My name is Elena, and I'm a senior at Wilson and one of the Editors of the Editorial section. If you have any questions or ideas or if you want to write, email me at [email protected]! Olivia MonosHello! My name is Olivia and I'm a junior this year, and one of the editors of the Editorial section! I'm really excited to write for the Paw Print again this year!
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