Then to Now, My Social Media

The problem I have always had when it comes to social media has been that I have been late to the party for every social media platform imaginable.

In August 2011, I created my first Facebook account at the age of 14. This was very exciting to me as I lived through middle school with everyone talking about what happened on MySpace, MSN, or Facebook, and my mom would never allow me to join any of them. By August 2011, I decided to make a Facebook account and it still had its novelty at the time, but the excitement of Facebook was soon to die down. Nowadays I mainly keep my Facebook account to follow news stories or tag my friends in memes.

After that, I did not have another social media account for at least a year. Then as we were hanging out one day, my friends and I decided to make my first Twitter account. Now, while Twitter has become much bigger as a celebrity platform and a medium for news than I had anticipated, by the time I made my account (@BrianJoystick for those wondering, it’s still there for all your angry TTC commuter needs and wrestling comments) the excitement surrounding Twitter at my school had subsided.

The same thing has happened when I made my first Tumblr account in the Fall of 2013, and Instagram in 2014. As my social media accounts were created after the height of the popularity of each platform, if I could deliver a message to 14 year old me I would let him know to get on top of social media as it is becoming popular. Now as a Sport Media student whose work is primarily featured on social media platforms, I have to make sure I can tell what is popular and what isn’t when it comes to social media.

I would make sure to let a younger me know that Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are very popular before I got on their platforms. I would then let him know that Snapchat will be a huge deal, as well as the success of Twitch, Periscope, and others. Just to get ahead of the game and hopefully find success on their platforms before other people would so a younger me can get famous.

I have never had much of an attachment to social media accounts or the followers I have or don’t have. I do not believe that I have to go back to tell a younger me anything having to do with my mental health. Social media has always been a fun exercise for me, and my mental health has never had a connection to the success or failure of any of my accounts.

My presence on social media now is mainly business related. My twitter does not see much use aside from staying up to date on news and sharing my own projects on a public scale. I believe at the moment I am in a secure place with my social media identity but I must always remember to keep an eye open for whatever new and developing platforms are on the horizon.