Social Media and the Effects of Our Growing Generation

In the past 20 years, social media has been a growing platform for people to stay connected to one another. Depending on who you talk to, some people have even gained immense popularity, and even stardom, by just simply uploading a video once a day or posting a crazy photo with hashtags attached. Now, some of the biggest social media stars out there have a net worth ranging from 1 - 2 million dollars just by sticking to the basic method of "wowing" your average audience. However, the big question on a lot of our mind's are "Is this helping us or hurting us?"

Facebook's Intensions vs. The Actual Outcome

Facebook was initially created in 2003, with a small group of tech-savvy college students. As Facebook continued to grow, it was advertised as a way for friends and family to connect to one another, sharing stories and photos of their daily lives. It was a great idea because if your family lived across the world in another country, this was a perfect way for them to stay up to date with birthdays, anniversaries, parties, etc. Before Facebook gained it's popularity, we had Myspace.

Between Myspace and Facebook, it was quite the competition because Myspace had all these new "gadgets" attached in the coding that let us use music for our backgrounds and rate our "friends" by having a "top 10 list" displayed on your profile. However, Facebook was able to captivate all generations, from young to old, so it had a more appealing audience. With that said, Myspace started to dissolve because it really only gained the attention from the younger generation, so when it came time to choose, we all chose the platform that won the "majority" vote. I wasn't going to use Myspace if half of my family wasn't going to use it with me. It defeated the purpose.

With all of this said, Facebook has taken on a life of it's own in the more recent 5 years. People started creating groups, and some choice groups were not exactly what you would expect.... First you would see the fun ones like recipes, motivational quotes, and support groups for the people that are tired and overworked. But now you also see political activists, feminism, racially motivated groups, and conspiracy theorists. I can't be the one to say that any of these groups are good or bad, but again, Facebook is now used as a way to connect with all diverse types of people. The one thing I've noticed with new and upcoming groups, is that the larger they are, the more powerful they become. Before you know it, there's a domino effect starting with just an idea. After an idea, comes discussion. After a discussion, comes action. With action, comes results. With results, comes further discussion, into more action. It's a trickling down effect that happens when people are dissatisfied with how the world works, so when they try and change the world, and realize that it didn't work, a vast majority of people start reaching out for more drastic measures, at any cost.

Youtube - It's Now a Career Option

Do you remember what YouTube was like in the early 2000s? Video quality was terrible, it would take forever just to upload one video, and if you were there to just watch videos, it would mainly just be filled with music videos or Vloggers.

This is where the above mentioned "stardom" comes into play. Youtube will monetize your videos, as long as you stick to the Community Standards and appeal to your audience. You also have to have a certain number of views along with the ad-sponsored traffic. It's quite a complex option, but for the people that have this down to a science, it's paid off. Literally. People are making a full replaceable income just by uploading videos to you tube. If you think that job is easy though, you are dead wrong.

Most successful Youtubers need to know how to edit, publish, and post videos in a way that drives sufficient traffic through their channel. It can take hours, sometimes days, for one video to be worthy of being uploaded, then you have to make sure that it doesn't get reported later by the content monitors of Youtube for being determined "inappropriate." After everything is said and done, there you have it.... you are now making a sufficient salary to quit your day job and commit 100% to this process.

One of the more common issues that these content creators are now facing are social and emotional turmoil. It's stressful enough trying to upload the "perfect" video, but most of these successful creators have now been spending days, sometimes weeks, in their home, with only the subscribers to keep them company. There have been increased reports of mental illness, and even suicide, that directly correlate with the amount of stress and pressure that have been put on these creators to keep it going. Now more than ever it's important for these full time successors to reconnect with humanity on a more personal level, because the fans they have subscribed to their channel may not be able to provide the love and support they need. "Hats off" to the ones that are making it out there - You are loved and appreciated.

Social Media and the Search For Affirmation

It's important to know that this section is completely opinionated, and I hold no facts or bearing on what I am about to say regarding how social media is being used for emotional support.

When scrolling through your daily feed, whether it be Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Youtube, or even the edgier ones like Reddit or 4 Chan, I usually see the same people posting the same stuff. It could be what they are eating, their date night, shopping spree... you name it. The one thing I've noticed (again, just an opinion), is that there appears to be a level of affirmation that people are yearning for when they post their photos. Maybe they are reaching out because they had a hard day and need a pick me up, or someone to laugh at a video they saw, or wanting everyone to see their family having the best day out "ever." Whatever the reason is, people are posting it, FOR A REASON.

The only thing that's concerning is....what if the response or reaction from the public isn't what they were looking for? Does it make a difference? Will they second guess what they will post tomorrow because their "friends" didn't like or love a post? Searching for acceptance through social media could actually be part of what started the rampage of groups that are now considered "extremists." It can be a risky approach that could end in disastrous situations. Most of the time, it's not disastrous. "Oh well they don't like my photo" is a common result. Again, what if it escalates? There are a large amount of sensitive people out there that have learned social media is now the corner stone of how we communication... but it shouldn't be.....right?

In Closing

While we continue to navigate through these hard times, the only thing I can do for myself and the people that I love is to put down the phone, computer, tablet, or whatever I have in my hands...and really connect with my friends and family in the now. It's hard because we can't necessarily do all the things we want to because of the pandemic, but it'll all come back, slowly but surely. Try and remember to be good to yourself, and the ones around you..... for we only have one life to live.

How will you live yours?