Social media consists of multiple different platforms and is used as a way to post, engage, and inform. Used by many students and faculty members at Fair Grove High School, there are mixed opinions about how it affects its users.
There are many different apps used for social media, such as popular platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. Some students at Fair Grove, including Aubrie Voorhis (11), Dylan George (12), and Andie Evans (9), find that they use Instagram the most. However, their uses vary.
Voorhis uses Instagram the most often because it is the only social media app that she has. Although, George stated, “I use Instagram the most because it has the best reels and it’s the best way to get information out about school clubs.”
Evans explained, “I use Instagram and Snapchat the most. I am not allowed to have TikTok so I like watching the videos on Instagram. I have Snapchat because it’s how I communicate with older people for school-related topics.”
Shelley Thornton, the Fair Grove Spanish Teacher, runs the schools’ social media pages. She said, “I use Instagram and Facebook. I use both to keep up with friends and family members and their lives.”
She continued, “I love that my students who are interested in seeing the Spanish language used in the world, and by speakers with their own interests and of their own age, are able to find videos and pop culture trends relating to the Spanish language and culture.”
Thornton explained a positive benefit of social media, “I like that social media can help high school students stay informed about events and updates from their school and community organizations. I know there are many accounts designed to teach skills or pertaining to individual students’ interests.”
Voorhis expressed, “I like being able to keep up with people’s lives that you aren’t seeing everyday, and also it is the best way to share your favorite pictures. I also think there are some good influencers out there that share positivity and love to others.”
Others think there are negative aspects to social media. George, for example, said, “I would say it is a massive time waster (after scrolling I feel like a failure) and there are a lot of things on social media that high school students get exposed to that are very destructive and evil.”
He continued, “Social media has hurt me a lot more than it has helped me. It wasted my time and exposed me to things that I didn’t want to see. It did help with telling people about clubs though. The only reason I stay on social media is to post funny videos. Otherwise, I would immediately banish it from my life.”
Evans expressed the negative effects of social media. She shared, “I think social media is addictive and negative to some students. It encourages a more comparative nature amongst peers.”
She continued, “It’s really common for almost everything we see to be fake and even AI, so there is little to no educational concept to social media. It’s also so easy to cyberbully people via platforms.”
Thornton explained, “Aside from the few benefits of social media, I think society in general would be better off if it didn’t exist.”
Though social media seems to pose an issue among high schoolers, solutions are available. George came up with an idea, “Some solutions could be establishing a mega-virus to all internet servers and sending us back to the dark ages, or having a vibe reset and going back to LG slide phones, ipods, and wired earbuds.”
Thornton said, “I think schools requiring phones to be locked during the day has been a big help. I think enforcing a minimum age to create an account on social media sites would also help.”
Overall, social media platforms can be used for good or bad. How they’re used, or even how often, are where the issues and solutions may lie.
