For me personally, I have a lot of social media. I use Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Pinterest. I stay off Twitter because I think that the new CEO is a little interesting, and I don’t use Facebook because I am under the age of thirty-five. However, I like other social media – to an extent. I think there are many positives to using them, such as staying in touch with friends and family, keeping up on current events, and using them as an outlet for creativity or simply unwinding from your day. The problems arise, however, when phone addiction starts becoming prevalent. Also, there can be issues with the spread of false information, cyberbullying, and overall too much time spent on these apps. So, like everything, there are pros and cons. Personally, I try to limit my interaction with these negatives by one, limiting my screen time; two, not trusting everything I see on TikTok, for example, and doing my own research, and three, blocking accounts and people who only spread negativity. I set a limit of only 30 minutes allowed on TikTok, Instagram, or Pinterest and 40 on Snapchat. I also try to only go on social media during specific times of the day as to not distract myself from staying in the present moment. Why do all this and not just delete the apps off of my phone? I actually really enjoy using Snapchat and Instagram to keep in contact with my friends – both current and old – and see what they are up to. Although social media is obviously not reality, it is nice to see a slice of what and how people I know are doing. For TikTok and Pinterest, I actually really look forward to relaxing on these apps to take away the stress of my busy school life. The information on these apps is not always the most positive, educational, or worthwhile, but I still enjoy unwinding by watching some videos or scrolling through my feed. This is why I set limits for myself because, before I did, I would find myself on these apps for hours a day, wasting my time and my brain power on things that aren’t even a real part of my life. But, when consumed in smaller doses, using social media, for me, comes with a bunch of positives that no adult can convince me to otherwise take out of my life.
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