Rocket Fumes: Social Media

In today’s world, social media seems to be something that is at the center of our daily lives. It’s a quick and easy way to exchange true information and rumors. Social media users can range from any age group, and it’s very accessible in our modern society. There are many ways to access social media. Users can go on websites or download specific apps such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. 

At a young age, kids are already being exposed to social media by their parents and siblings. Most parents are very likely to take photos of them and share them with friends and family on some sort of social media platform. Their use of social media will highly influence their child to use it once they have their own technology. 

However, as kids grow older, they will start to have their own opinions. They will eventually realize social media can have many pros and cons. Although social media apps may cause people to procrastinate, they are also an excellent source of broadening your knowledge. 

Two RMHS students were willing to share their different opinions on whether joining social media was beneficial as they are now much more mature than their younger selves.  

If you could go back in time, would you join social media sites?

NO

Analise Grady (‘22)

I think that social media can be negative sometimes because there are haters out there that share negativity and rude comments which can be hurtful. There are always these influencers that kind of make people feel pressured like that’s the correct lifestyle or body type people should have to fit in our society. This can lower peoples’ self-esteem. Social media can even be distracting and make us forget time. In addition, social media can sometimes share our own private information with other third parties, which can cause harm to our reputations. 

YES

Bobby Squires (‘22)

Yes, I would! While social media can be distracting at times, it’s also a really great way to discover new stuff. Personally, I don’t really use social media to keep in touch with friends. I mainly just use it for entertainment. I can’t say how many times I’ve used social media to learn a new skill or find a new community or even to get help on my homework. Even though I sometimes get sidetracked by a video online and forget about an assignment, or spend an hour doomscrolling instead of going outside, those are small tradeoffs for all that I’ve discovered from using social media.