Leah Laughlin
So many new social media platforms have been created over the years, from MySpace, LinkedIn, and Facebook, to now TikTok, Snapchat and BeReal, upon many more. Newtown High School is enforcing a stricter policy on phones, but what about on social media?
According to NPR.org, 1 in 5 teens spend over five hours a day on social media. This can lead to lack of sleep and a poor quality of sleep. When asked how much time students were on their phones, specifically social media, many students realized that they were on it for multiple hours a day.
“Anywhere, depending on the day, from one to three or four hours.” NHS senior Grant Carson said. “I really like watching YouTube. It’s definitely not good, and I wish I did not spend as much time on it.”
“If a child is on social media, they could try to set limits or rules about when and how long they use it,” NHS parent Julie Laughlin said. She thinks that the app should set time limits for kids that aren’t changeable or ignorable.
The website commonsensemedia.org, said 72 percent of teens and 48 percent of adults feel the need to immediately check their phones when they get a text message, social media notification, or a notification for other apps.
“I think that I spend too much time on social media because everytime I pick up my phone I’m on social media,” NHS freshman Addie O’Leary said.
On the other hand, social media is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family and it can be used to communicate with people you don’t see very often. In addition, YouTube can be used to watch videos that interest you. Many kids also use YouTube to post and make videos about things they enjoy or find funny.
“I don’t wish that they were gone entirely. I use Snapchat to stay in touch with my older sister who’s off at college,” said Carson. He does agree that social media can be bad, but when used properly it can be a huge asset.
Social media can also be used as a marketing or advertisement facility for adults. If social media was taken down, then it would also take down a lot of advertisements and hurt a lot of YouTube influencers. According to intuit.com, a YouTube influencer with 100,000 subscribers will make 600 to 1000 dollars per week, and 2,400 to 4,000 dollars per month. Many people are official YouTubers, so it would hurt them financially if YouTube or other platforms they may make videos on, like TikTok, got taken down.