Evolution of Social Media and Personal Reflection
Social Media is continuously evolving from first having a picture with some commentary to maybe a hashtag to now having multiple pictures, emojis, and music incorporated. What the future holds for social media is unpredictable, but as the new generation of young teens emerge onto internet platforms there is going to be changes. For myself, I already depend on social media for much of my learning including how to be an effective writer and hacks to continue learning while not in school. More apps are being made for elementary and middle schoolers because access to a computer or iPad is almost required at such young ages. Educational apps are being used by schools as credit like Hopscotch or Treehouse to introduce them to the digitized world. I’m even seeing advertisements for these educational apps which indicates to me the growing popularity especially during quarantine. I think with introducing a digital world so early in a life; a dependence can develop and lose the ability to interact face to face. Which will inevitably hurt them in school settings if a reliance is made.
I think “the next big thing” in social media is that people will be paying a subscription on social media to eliminate ads and create social media apps that will be for political commentary. When advertisements emerged on platforms on Instagram there was an outcry that constant scroll was interrupted with annoying ads. Paying the company to eliminate the ads and keep the same content is highly profitable for corporations to increase revenue. With the mindset that consumers are the ones benefiting from the payment, not social media companies. Developing political social media apps, if became popular, would eliminate a lot of commentary on other social media like Facebook. Facebook has become a platform to share holiday pictures and extensive political opinions, and why publish never-ending political rants when the news does just that. If this kind of social media existed a new freedom would be found.
The experience of this course has opened my eyes to how large the digital world really is and not just my Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram. Initially, I wasn’t going to take a summer course because they would be in Minnesota and I live in Los Angeles. Staying the summer, by myself in a still very unknown state wasn’t a wise decision. Having the course become online, under horrible circumstances, allowed me to take social media and collected learning course. Now with the knowledge gained from this course, I want to expand my Linkedin to gain professional connections to establish a digital presence beyond my volleyball recruiting profile. I believe showcasing more of my volunteering experience will expand my name to gain connections.
What I have enjoyed the most is reading all of the blogs and Twitter post on #DigCit because that was a concept I had no idea existed before this course. I have always enjoyed reading blogs, and having been using medium as a mode to post blogs; I will continue to use the platform.
