My Final Blog Post: Raised by the Internet

    As previously mentioned in my Privacy TEDtalk videos blog post I believe that I have a pretty large online footprint. Ever since I was around 8 or 9 I started to explore the internet and made accounts on random sites, giving my email out to whoever needed it without even thinking about how this could affect me in the future. Since then, I have joined many different social media sites, too many to count that I don't even use on a daily basis and often forget that I am a part of. The sites that I use the most are Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. I post something to each of these platforms at least once a day whether that be a story or a feed post. On Snapchat and Instagram, I post to both my private/close friend's stories as well as my public story. I like to share anything and everything because I find it fun, but have also grown up in a society where everyone thinks that everyone cares about them way more than they actually do. My private Snapchat may be a way to share funny or interesting things that happen throughout my day but honestly, it has primarily become a video diary of sorts. I started auto-saving my stories in the summer of 2018 so I can go back and look at what I was doing any day since then and enjoy rewatching and reliving these moments especially before the coronavirus took over all of our social lives. 

   With the amount that I post and share on my social media if a person wanted to learn about me, if they had access to all of my posts during the week, they could learn a lot. When it comes to the personal information I do not see my email as private as my phone number or address. I do have a separate email address for stuff I know that will be spam, one for shopping and other interests, one for business and job hiring-related things, and then my school email which is only for school. I do not have an issue giving out my email because I have one for all occasions and can quickly compartmentalize the information that I will be reviving. So when a site asks for my email, depending on what it is I usually have no problem, giving it to them. I probably give out my phone number more than I should and receive lots of spam texts and calls but they don't bother me too much and phone companies are becoming more advanced with knowing how to block these calls which is helpful. 

    

    The Atlantic article: Does social media make people lonely? Depressed? Isolated? I would agree that social media does all of the following. It shows us how singular we are. It makes us feel that our negative feelings are not as valid because when we go on social media, other people are not feeling the same way. It portrays this painted picture of constant joy and that is not how life is. Social media can also make us feel isolated. Especially in high school, I would always dread going on snapchat to see what everyone was doing because I was never invited. Social media has created this heightened feeling of the fear of missing out (FOMO). But I also see how it can have the complete opposite effect. Especially with TikTok. "TikTok is a place that brings people together to find moments of joy and inspiration. It's also a place to find your community, no matter your interests. This has never been more important than in 2020. From a global pandemic that introduced us to social distancing to protests for racial equality, community hardships, and personal and economic uncertainties the world over, 2020 was full of all the feelings. Throughout those moments, millions of Americans turned to TikTok to share their stories and lift others up. (TikTok, 2019)"

References

TikTok. (2019, August 16). The Year on TikTok: Top 100. Retrieved December 04, 2020, from https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/the-year-on-tiktok-top-100