The Mirror Reflecting Our Lives
By: Rhianna Dozier
For something to be put out in the universe for everyone else to see takes less time than it does to read this sentence. To be exact, it takes .001 seconds to click a button that exposes your character. Did you even think about it? Were you conscious when clicking that big red button that exposed your life? Think of it as leaving your front door open. Anyone from anywhere can walk in without you even knowing. It works the same for the internet. Posting a picture, comment, or video on social media is giving outsiders a looking glass into your life. Someone reading this might say, "Well, what about Snapchat? You can have your picture disappear in ten seconds. Or what about Instagram and Facebook? You can always delete a photo." Take it from someone whose father works in cyber security. Photos, links, videos, and comments you make on other posts never go away. Those photos your mom posted of you with cake on your face when you were four years old or that unflattering outfit your sister posted on her story when you were 11 will haunt you even after you die. Chilling, isn't it? Let me elaborate with an example of my own.
It was last October, and I was trying to find embarrassing photos of my little Brittaney in my sorority so that I could put a collage together of awkward photos of our whole sorority family. Brittaney's mom had posted old photos of Brittaney years ago but deleted them when Brittaney went to college because she didn't want her to be embarrassed if any of Brittaney's friends found these pictures. I am not tech-savvy whatsoever. When I went onto Brittaney's mother's Facebook page, I was able to find seven of the 20 photos that her mom had deleted. How? The photos Brittaney's mom shared were sent to other family friends, who then reposted the images and showed their friends who commented on the pictures. Brittaney was horrified, as was Sonia Bokhari in her story about her mom's photos of her on Facebook.
Sonia brings up a profound point: "Teens get a lot of warnings that we aren't mature enough to understand that everything we post online is permanent, but parents should also reflect about their use of social media and how it could potentially impact their children's lives as we become young adults" ("I'm 14, and I Quit Social Media After Discovering What Was Posted About Me"). Nothing ever really disappears forever. It's in the cloud, and if someone wants to find it, with just three clicks of a button, someone can find out your whole life based on one bikini picture you posted with your friend over spring break ten years ago. Think about all the dirt that tabloids and journalists find out about the early years of a politician or a royal family member. Those "throwback" college day photos wearing revealing outfits and chugging beer from a keg.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90315706/kids-parents-social-media-sharing
https://www.viewpointcenter.com/blog/social-media-effects-social-isolation/
For something to be put out in the universe for everyone else to see takes less time than it does to read this sentence. To be exact, it takes .001 seconds to click a button that exposes your character. Did you even think about it? Were you conscious when clicking that big red button that exposed your life? Think of it as leaving your front door open. Anyone from anywhere can walk in without you even knowing. It works the same for the internet. Posting a picture, comment, or video on social media is giving outsiders a looking glass into your life. Someone reading this might say, "Well, what about Snapchat? You can have your picture disappear in ten seconds. Or what about Instagram and Facebook? You can always delete a photo." Take it from someone whose father works in cyber security. Photos, links, videos, and comments you make on other posts never go away. Those photos your mom posted of you with cake on your face when you were four years old or that unflattering outfit your sister posted on her story when you were 11 will haunt you even after you die. Chilling, isn't it? Let me elaborate with an example of my own. It was last October, and I was trying to find embarrassing photos of my little Brittaney in my sorority so that I could put a collage together of awkward photos of our whole sorority family. Brittaney's mom had posted old photos of Brittaney years ago but deleted them when Brittaney went to college because she didn't want her to be embarrassed if any of Brittaney's friends found these pictures. I am not tech-savvy whatsoever. When I went onto Brittaney's mother's Facebook page, I was able to find seven of the 20 photos that her mom had deleted. How? The photos Brittaney's mom shared were sent to other family friends, who then reposted the images and showed their friends who commented on the pictures. Brittaney was horrified, as was Sonia Bokhari in her story about her mom's photos of her on Facebook.
Sonia brings up a profound point: "Teens get a lot of warnings that we aren't mature enough to understand that everything we post online is permanent, but parents should also reflect about their use of social media and how it could potentially impact their children's lives as we become young adults" ("I'm 14, and I Quit Social Media After Discovering What Was Posted About Me"). Nothing ever really disappears forever. It's in the cloud, and if someone wants to find it, with just three clicks of a button, someone can find out your whole life based on one bikini picture you posted with your friend over spring break ten years ago. Think about all the dirt that tabloids and journalists find out about the early years of a politician or a royal family member. Those "throwback" college day photos wearing revealing outfits and chugging beer from a keg.
Teenagers and young adults spend hours on social media a day. It is their way of "rewinding" or "escaping reality." For me, I prefer poetry or watching sports. My online footprint is not very large at all. The social media sites that I use on an everyday basis are Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and Linked In. I use Instagram to keep tabs on my favorite athletes. I use Facebook to see any sorority updates. I use Snapchat to talk to my friends. Most importantly, I use Linked In to connect with people in the broadcasting field and ask them questions about the roles they play communicating sports to a larger audience.
Although I do not spend more than two hours a day on social media, anyone could probably figure out the last three years of my life. I post vacation pictures on Instagram. I post my college classes, achievements, and extracurricular activities on my Linked In and my phone number and email. I post private information on my Linked In only because I want broadcasters who connect with me to be able to have my personal contact information if one of them decides to reach out, asking about what type of broadcasting I am interested in pursuing. Unlike most people, I don't rely on social media to keep me connected to others.
There is this phobia called FOMO, which means the fear of missing out. People usually develop FOMO from relying on and looking at social media so much to the point where they feel excluded if they are not part of the fun or activity. It's anxiety about not being a part of something interesting on social media. Social media is a sponge that soaks up every ounce of emotion from a person's body. When you see something sad, you feel remorse for that person. When you see your friends taking a trip together, you become lonely. When you see someone doing something stupid, you laugh. Social media sets trends and forges new sayings and slogans that even I don't understand. The key point to take away is that even though you are watching them through social media, they will always be watching you.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90315706/kids-parents-social-media-sharing
https://www.viewpointcenter.com/blog/social-media-effects-social-isolation/
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