How Are You Using Social Media? by Malia
Maliaof Gilbert's entry into Varsity Tutor's August 2018 scholarship contest
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How Are You Using Social Media? by Malia - August 2018 Scholarship Essay
Now days technology is more of a life necessity. With the internet becoming more important, social media has also grown to become a platform everyone around the world uses. Society has become obsessed with constantly checking other people's lives and trying to improve their own self image. For many people, constantly looking at feeds about people's glamours lives subconsciously makes their self-image go down. It can lead to many emotional and psychological disorder like depression and anxiety, but even considering this social media can offer many advantages if used correctly.
Personally, I had an experience with having no social media, internet, texting, calling, etc. when I went on a humanitarian trip to Peru. Although at the start of the trip I was annoyed with not having access to my friends and family, it actually allowed me to have really cool experiences while I was there. Maybe in real life situations it won't be as meaningful as it was for me, but without a phone it leads to interesting opportunities like talking with someone you wouldn't normally talk to because of your phone. While I was there I couldn't just avoid awkward situations with people or how an environment was, I had to face the situation in front of me. Another experience was when I got the opportunity to hike Machu Picchu, I wasn't focused on getting the coolest picture to post, or wanting to update my story to show where I was. Instead I was living in the moment with my friends and immersing myself in its history and beauty.
Being without my phone was't horrible, but even after this experience there was still some really cool benefits of social media I realized. All the people I met in Peru ended up following me on all these social media platforms, and direct messaging me about how I was doing. It was so cool to me, personally, that even though I was miles away I could still maintain these friendships, and even build on them more because of google translate. I have the blessing through social media to be connected with them, video chat them, and see what their up to, despite being so far away.
With social media, everyone gets the opportunity to stay in touch with people, and keep themselves updated on what their friends have been up to. I believe this was why social media was created, and furthering that thought, believe that if the people who use these platforms remember this, social media will always be a benefit of society instead of being this potentially dangerous hazard.