Social Media: Hurting or Helping?

TRANSCRIPT:

Mo: Do you think that social media has impacted you in a good way or a bad way and why?

Person 1: I think it’s a mix of both. It’s definitely hard on your mental health a lot of the time but it’s also an amazing opportunity because I’m a writer. So it is an amazing opportunity for me specifically to get my work out there and it makes everything so much easier. You have more options aside from traditional publishing as well because, typically unless you’re traditionally published, it’s hard to get your work out there; at least it used to be before social media. But it also invited a lot more toxicity into my life and a lot of my friends - I know I have had several friends that have struggled severely because of online bullying and stuff. And it’s weird, the duality of it, like everything has that. But I feel like it shows up more in social media than in anything else.

Mo: And then what social media apps do you use?

Person 1: Um, most of them- tik tok, Tumblr, YouTube, stuff like that.

Person 2: Honestly, I think social media has impacted me in a bad way. I see myself as more critical and comparing myself to other people more than I did before and I see all the bad news, and of course information stealing and all that. Honestly I don’t think it has impacted me in a good way more than a bad way, however, I have met a lot of friends through it.

Mo: And what social media apps do you use?

Person 2: I use tik tok, sometimes Twitter, Instagram sometimes, Reddit, and Discord if you can count that.

Person 3: I feel like I’ve had experiences with both. To start off with good things, I guess, I’ve found other people who like the same things and I’ve heard about opportunities to, you know, do things or go to stuff around town. But definitely, I’ve experienced the toxic side of social media. I’ve just had experiences with just comparing myself to others and stuff like that.

Mo: And then what social media apps do you use?

Person 3: Um, Instagram is a big one, that’s the main one for me.

Person 4: That is a hard question, I feel like there are really good things about it, like connecting with people from like different areas and like, I don’t know, like finding things you have in common with people and like, mutual friends and all that. But it’s definitely, it’s also had like a bad impact, I guess. I feel like it’s really easy to compare yourself to other people on social media, in like a way. Because like, what people put on social media, like, that’s not who they are. I feel like it’s like a curated little, almost art piece sometimes for some people, and like, it can be super unrealistic and make you feel bad about yourself sometimes. But I don’t know, there’s good things too.

Mo: Okay, and what social media apps do you use?

Person 4: Oh god, um, Instagram, Snapchat, like Twitter, Pinterest, BeReal I guess if that counts, tik tok. That’s like, kind of an embarrassingly large amount, but yeah.

Mo McClure is a senior at Poudre High School and she runs the Watashiato Press where she shows peoples life experiences and social issues. Click here to check it out!