I Am Stephen Torres
My name is Stephen Torres and I am currently a sophomore at Northern Vermont University.
I’ve used social media ever since 2010. I started with Facebook and now have a total of around eight different social media accounts across different platforms. Since 2008 I was using a smartphone, and with it, had instant access to every bit of news and information before I reached high school.
The business side of running a social media account interests me greatly. I am curious about starting a public persona and learning how to interact with other people on social media through the lens of a journalist. The most exciting part of social media for me is when news is breaking about an event before journalists have time to catch up on the details. I want to learn more on how journalists use social media to find the juicy news stories.

The work I have done in my major has helped hone in on what makes a story appealing. When I am telling a story I try and sit down and write out everything I want to say beforehand. It is a chance to omit or add words and helps connect the details and timeline of events together. As a reader and writer I am best at drawing connections between details of a story and applying those connections made into a larger story or message. If I am looking for inspiration I read a book or take some time to journal outdoors.
When dealing with challenges I take some time to process what is needed. I try and think of what steps I could take to overcome it. I break down step by step what is asked of me and work from there. The most challenging assignment given to me was my Video Productions II final. It is also the work I am proudest of the most as I was given creative and editorial freedom to create my own appealing story.
The podcast offered an outlook on social media that I have seen discussed on twitter recently. Reflecting on social media and looking at how it impacts the real world is grounding for me as I sometimes think of social media as just a website and forget the real world implications it has on all of us.
