What is Social Media to me?

I signed up for my first prominent social media app on my own when I was 11 or 12 years old. It was Instagram and I had learned about it through the word of mouth from an older teammate. I downloaded it the night he told me about this “app that you can share pictures and messages with other people like your friends” and I feel like life was never the same after that. I had used other social media services before but they were constructed and limited to my 5th grade class’ use. Using a social media application independently at the age changed what my young mind thought was possible and what I thought was awesome. From there on out, most of my interests, entertainment, and socializing came on social media apps like Instagram and Snapchat.

As I got older, through high school, Instagram and Snapchat became the place to find out what was going on and where it was. Social Media was the place to express yourself and show others how you are different and creative. I felt the need set myself apart with creative filters and picture angles. It was also the place to voice your opinion and show people niche things that you find interesting. I think because all humans want to be different and expressive, social media can become a constant cycle of copying or tweaking others ideas. The exchange of ideas, creativity, and trends is the beautiful thing about instant communication. However, social media can be a place where people unfairly compare themselves to others which can cause mental health problems and a skewed perception of reality.

However overall, social media is an amazing tool for society and humanity and its technology has advanced exponentially since the internet and social media came to be.

The aspect of social media that interests me most is what exactly captures peoples attention and what causes something to go viral. My main interest is video production because I believe human beings are most captivated by visually engaging videos that create or convey a relatable mood, idea, or theme.

Social Media is only going to grow and become more integral to the way societies work and interact in the world. Virtual Reality is going to take over within the next 10 years and human beings are going to continue to morph their physical identities with their online digital identities. Social Media and human interaction on the internet is going to reside mainly within an almost fully immersive virtual reality in the near future.

• Caden Hendrickson, IMA+Marketing, Juniata College ‘23