My thoughts on Social Media LJ#1

Hello people of the internet! 

    Social media apps have rules and regulations that you have to follow when using them. But there are other unwritten rules of social media platforms that people follow as well. Here are some dos and don'ts I believe that you should follow when using social media. I will be starting with things that you should do while using social media. Be aware of what you post on the internet because it will be out there on the internet until the end of time. Stay connected with friends and family on personal accounts that you do not mind people seeing what you post as well as who you follow. Having a personal account as well as private account is something I recommend doing while using different social media sites. This helps to separate your public and private interests. Being authentic is something that you should do while using social media. Being yourself on social media will help you to be more comfortable with yourself in real life. Here are some things that you should not do when it comes to using social media. Don't overshare your personal information on the internet as you do not know who will see your posts (unless you have a private account). Don't overuse social media because it will become draining and you will hard time separating the internet from your real life. I have many friends that have become addicted to social media sites like Tik Tok and Instagram. Don't use social media to bully others as you do not know just how much words may hurt some people. It is free to be a kind person to those on the internet which makes this rule a  very easy one to follow. If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all. 

    Social media has changed quite a bit since the first ever social media website in 1997 called Six Degrees. The new age of social media was led by powerhouse sites like myspace and facebook in the mid to late 2000's. I began using facebook in 2011. Facebook was the first social media website that I signed up for, followed by instagram and snapchat in the following years. When social media first became relevant in my life I was posting silly photos and videos for friends and family. As time went on, many of my posts were made to impress my peers that I went to school with. This period of impression lasted until I reached high school. Once I matured enough to realize that I did not need to impress anyone, I began posting whatever I wanted to. As an adult I have learned to keep much of my personal life off of the internet. I do not post much now but if I do post on social media it probably has something to do with cats or sports. The climate of social media has also changed since the early days of Facebook. Social media can be used as a political platform now and has changed how we connect with those in power. The main platforms that I use now are Instagram and Twitter. Instagram is a great way to stay connected with all of your friends and family all over the world. Twitter is great for following things like sports, stocks, and public figures. These are a few things that I follow but you can follow almost any thing out there that interests you. 

    If I could go back to when I started using social media and change how I used the sites, I would. I used to post whatever I wanted to when using sites like instagram and twitter. This created a false narrative of who I was as a person and it has created problems from time to time. If I had known that what I posted would have created any issues I wouldn't have posted such foolish things. It is now too late to change the past and what has been done is irreversible. I never did anything that would have someone "cancelled". Creating unnecessary drama within my high school was the worst thing that I had done. Being immature on the internet can cause problems and will not make anyone happy.