Summary/Response: (6) “Teens Also Sometimes Quit Social Media” M. Elizabeth Garza 8/2
Notopoulos, Katie. “Teens Also Sometimes Quit Social Media.” BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed, Nov. 2018, www.buzzfeed.com/katienotopoulos/teens-also-sometimes-quit-social-media.
According to Katie Notopoulos, “Teens Also Sometimes Quit Social Media,” she emphasizes shares several motives why teens even though they are prominent to social media, they are also known how to withdraw themselves from it. She compares teens to older adults that are connected to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. Some of the causes many teens prefer to disconnect, or temporary disconnect is because they feel like they are left out, they compare their social status to others. Moreover, all these feelings bring anxiety and mental distress. In addition to this feeling, a lot of these teenagers are mindful and know that they need to disconnect from social media.
I agree with this reading, the generation known as (Gen Z or I Gen) are more exposed to social media and smartphones. Since I work with High school students, I have had many conversations where they expressed that they do not check their Snapchat because they do not want to deal with drama or they do not want to be distracted from it, or it took too much time from, especially when they have to study. It was intrigued to know that these teens knew when to “turn it off.” However, I on the other hand, sometimes have a bit of difficulty doing it. I believe we have more of a greater curiosity when it comes to social media.
QUOTATIONS: “ Maybe we’re just good at the right bad-news/party-you-weren’t -invited-to vs. excellent-joyful-meme ratio.” (3)
REFERENCES:
Vitak, Jessica. “It is Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 58, no. 3, Mar. 2014, pp. 470–472., doi:10.1080/08838151.2014.935944.
I agree with you, Elizabeth. Sometimes (although I'm not a teenager) I feel like deleting my Facebook account because I don't want to see how all of my friends are having a good time, while I've been busy with work and classes all summer. And then I remember why I shouldn't deactivate my account---to keep up with daily news and weather. Its not easy for anyone to admit they're addicted to social media, but when it distracts adults or teenagers from their work and studies, a temporary withdrawal could be beneficial. I'd be concerned if a teenager said to me, "My entire life exists on my social networks". I have to wonder why teenagers need to share every thought on social media, but I think its all about acceptance within an online community.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, I am glad someone brought up this topic! It's very important and a lot of the times, we immediately assume that teenagers are highly addicted to their phones. What we don't take into consideration is that these kids are also having conscious thoughts about their social media and their phones. I have done the whole "stay logged off of social media" a few times. I even deleted my Instagram account because even though I have always believed deep down that I truly love my life because I have created it the way I want it, I, sadly, found myself comparing my life to others and was always dissatisfied with mine. I knew this was no good for me, and so I deleted the account. I now only have Facebook and Snapchat, and I now have learned how to log into those two apps at regulated time. I am so glad to read in this article and your summary response about teenagers being proactive in their engagement with social media!
ReplyDeleteI find this article interesting and I was going bring up what state in your response how some teens disconnect or don’t log into a specific account because they don’t want to deal with the drama. I noticed in my own 19 year niece that she deletes old facebook accounts or even she will make a new one without deleting the old one. They also make facebook or instagram account under nickname or even a whole different name. It like they want to be part of social media but they don’t want the constant scrutiny that comes from constantly being online. I want to say that it is age thing but I seen adults my age at 32 who also change there facebook name to a whole different name or make new ones without deleting old ones. I get new friend requests thinking wait a minute I though we are friends already. I also wonder if the technology to delete ourselves off of social media may not be easy.
ReplyDeleteHey Elizabeth, I really enjoyed your summery response. You know, when Facebook came up, I was a Senior in High School, and I couldn't get into it too much. As I got a little older, however, I found myself drawn to it but after a while it felt like those kind of social media sites were for people who liked attention. At least for people that were on my account. After a while, I did find myself detaching from social media as I did feel like I wasn't in my real world surrounding. It felt as if I were present or clinging to other peoples lives and never my own.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth,
ReplyDeleteThis article is definitely relatable. I am very conscious of my social media activity as far as how much use or effort I put into it. When I first heard of Facebook, I was, too, a senior in high school, and it was pitched as a social networking site for college students. High school students were “not allowed” to create profiles (or at least that is what was told to me). Well, as soon as I became a freshman in college, I immediately created a profile to network with fellow college students. Unfortunately, social media does not only welcome positive or productive comments. I had some unpleasant experiences through Facebook, so I decided to never utilize that application ever again.
My non-use of this application, at times, leaves me feeling out of the loop, but I prefer it this way.
This summary/response reminded me of a poem I share with my students by Prince EA. I will post the lyrics here because I think there is a thematic link.
Delete“Can We Auto-Correct Humanity?” Prince EA
Did you know the average person spends 4 years of his life looking down at his cell phone?
Kind of ironic, ain't it?
How these touch-screens can make us lose touch
But it's no wonder in a world filled with
IMac’s, iPads and iPhones
So many "i"’s, so many selfies, not enough "us"'s and "we"’s
See Technology has made us more selfish and separate than ever
Cause while it claims to connect us, connection has gotten no better
And let me must express first
Mr Zuckerberg, not to be rude but you should re-classify Facebook to what it is:
An anti-social network
Cause while we may have big friend lists
So many of us are friendless, all alone
Cause friendships and more broken than the screens on our very phones
We sit at home on our computers measuring self worth by numbers of followers and Likes
Ignoring those who actually love us
It seems we’d rather write an angry post
Than talk to someone who might actually hug us
Am I bugging? You tell me...
I asked a friend the other day lets meet up face to face
They said alright, what time you wanna Skype?
I responded with omg, srs, and then a bunch of smh's
And realized what about me?
[Lyrics from: https:/lyrics.az/prince-ea/-/can-we-auto-correct-humanity.html]
Do I not have the patience to have conversation without abbreviation?
This is the generation of media over stimulation
Chats have been reduced to snaps
The news is 140 characters
Videos are 6 seconds at high speed
And you wonder why ADD is on the rise faster than 4G LTE
But, get a load of this
Studies show the attention span of the average adult today
Is one second lower than that of a gold fish
So if, you're one of the few people or aquatic animals that have yet to click off or close this video, congratulations
Let me finish by saying you do have a choice, yes
But this one my friends we cannot Auto-Correct - we must do it ourselves
Take control or be controlled, Make a decision
Me?
No longer do I want to spoil a precious moment by recording it with a phone
I'm just gonna keep them
I don’t wanna take a picture of all my meals anymore - I 'm just gonna eat them
I don't want the new app, the new software, or the new update
And If I wanna post an old photo of myself who says I have to wait until Thursday
I'm so tired of performing in the pageantry of vanity
And conforming to this accepted form of digital insanity
Call me crazy but, I imagine a world where we smile when we have low batteries
Cause that will mean we'll be one bar closer - to humanity
In my experience teaching middle school kids, I see the exact opposite. They have not developed the mindfulness to discipline themselves to stay away from social media when they need to. From what I have seen, social media is their lives. I can't count the conversations, drama, fights, etc. that I have heard about because of a snapchat that was sent, Facebook post, etc. It's ridiculous. High school students, I think, are able to step away because they've matured enough to prioritize. I feel as though adults are sometimes like my middle schoolers though. Maybe it's the novelty for them or because they aren't around so many "friends" all the time the way middle schoolers are. Either way, I feel like young adults/teens in high school are distanced from social media much more than middle school/older adults.
ReplyDelete