Ideas for my blog

The new peer pressure
This article suggests that peer pressure from social media starts the "I'll have what she's having" trend whether they are financially able to or not. It also talks about how some people upload statuses about the vacation they just went on, the price of the brand new car they just purchased, or the increase in their salary, and other things without filtering them for their privacy. People who do this usually have in mind that other people will be wowed by how much money they are spending and things like that.

Peer pressure social media

This article focuses on the "How do you measure up?" question which is asking you if you are up to date with the social media, and making you feel peer pressured to do so if you already aren't, which is what social media does.

 

“Experts call it “yardsticking,” the impulse to privately pit yourself against peers in order to determine your social standing or self worth. In high school we called it peer pressure.”

What does it take to change your mind?


You will find more links within my blog :)

Introduction

 “As human beings, we evolved to care about our reputation. In today's world, one way we're able to manage our reputation is by using social media websites like Facebook," (Ericson. J, 2013) 

Social media is the way to communicate with friends and family these days.

However, with signing up to these sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, just to name a few, there comes a lot of extra baggage. From what you post, to what you read, to what other people can see, I do not recommend signing up if you would like to keep your privacy.

Does the 'fear of missing out' bother you?

Teenagers who heavily use social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, may see images that their peers have posted involving the use of alcohol and drugs. It is common for teenagers of all ages to post photos and videos of them and their friends hanging out or at a party intoxicated. Whether they do this to brag about the fact that they are doing drugs and alcohol before they are legally allowed, or just because they felt that they needed to post this particular kind of image or video at the time.

In saying this, I am not saying that if you are intoxicated DO NOT post photos of you and your friends having a good time, but that there are sensible ways to post photos of a good time. These sites do not need to be flooded with irresponsible, unnecessary pictures of underage drinking and smoking and whatever they may get up to at night.


One teen could be having ‘the best night ever’ and continuously posting photos and statuses about it throughout the night, while one of their peers is at home on a Saturday night scrolling through Instagram and surfing the Facebook news feed thinking to themselves that they also should be out doing that stuff if everyone else in their age group is. This is a form of peer pressure even though the person posting is unaware of this. The poster is not to blame, as we know that the average teenager over thinks every situation. It is just a known fact that teenagers over think, and make drama out of things that just aren’t worth worrying about.

Justin White writes in the Washington Post (July, 2013) about "FOMO-‘fear of missing out’”. He says that it is most common in the ages below 30, and it happens when someone gets anxious about not attending social events that all their peers did like a party the weekend before. Even though this occurs to males and females under 30, I think it is most common in teenagers from the age 13 through to 19 years old, as these are the years when they look deep into situations and conversations more than necessary.

People have always been concerned about their social standing (J. White, 2013) and the new rise in smartphones doesn’t help as all these social networking sites can be easily accessed on their mobile phones, making them even harder to resist.
 

Can you imagine being stuck at home on a Saturday night when all your peers are out socialising and having the night of their lives? (may be not the night of their lives, but this is from an over the top teenage girls point of view)

Are their lives as great as they seem?

People have their real selves, and then their 'better' selves, which is the self that they create on social networking sites.

The majority of the photos that they post are of them doing exciting activities, going out for dinner, new gifts that they have received or the latest gadgets they have brought, which makes their lives seem eventful and exciting all the time. From the point of view from the person on the other side of the laptop or smartphone scrolling through similar images like this, especially on a Friday or Saturday night, the poster's life seems ideal and a lot better than their own.

Do you really think that this person's life is constantly eventful? With the exception of an A-class celebrity of course, I don't think so. You can't think that they eat breakfast, lunch and dinner out everyday? Or that they are constantly 'shoppin til they're droppin' in between they're gourmet meals.

What I have found personally, is that on the site Instagram, there are a lot of people who post the better sides of themselves, making their lives seem more eventful than anyone else. What I know, is that Instagram is about uploading things as they happen, hence 'Insta' coming from instant. 

Uploading a picture of you all dolled up, with the hashtag '#out for the night', when it is a picture from that party you went to a couple of months ago, is not what I call instant. What would be almost acceptable, would be if it was from a couple of days ago, but then even then, I think it is safe to say you have missed the boat of uploading this. 

Wait for another outing.

Who's watching?

The majority of the people, who use social networking sites on a regular basis, usually forget that what you post on sites like Facebook will be there for everyone to see. Whether they are comments, statuses, photos or videos, the posts are visible to all of your Facebook friends, and even the friends of your friends, depending on your privacy settings.

These days, people of all ages are posting on their profiles nearly every day, and usually more than once per day. I think that teenagers especially post a lot more information than they should. Scrolling through my news feed, and there is typically an over exaggerated ‘break up’ status about young relationships, photos of young girls dressed up in clothing not for their age, and comments on statuses that should be done through private mail.

 

With over 900 million users worldwide, Facebook is used by people of all ages on a daily basis. Facebook is the most common social networking site in the world and who knows who could be out there surfing your profile, studying your friends, and to scare you completely, saving your photos?

Your choice

Now you’ve read my blog, do you feel slightly different towards social media sites? Peer pressure? Will you think twice before posting photos, videos or statuses?

I am sure we can all say that we have at least once experienced F.O.M.O. am I right?

Whether you use these social networking sites to post your day to day activities, or just to keep in touch with friends and relatives, they can become very addictive. You are also exposed to different types of peer pressure, especially teenagers from ages 13 to 18 years old as I have already said.

When you register for these sites, I guess you know what you are getting yourself into, when you are exposing yourself to the social media world and everything that comes with it.

 

Bibliography

White. J. (2013). Research finds link between social media and the ‘fear of missing out’. Retrieved from http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-07-08/national/40435967_1_fomo-social-media-anxiety/

Helsby. C. (2013). Use of smartphones for social media for the increase. Retrieved from http://www.dialaphone.co.uk/blog/2013/04/04/use-of-smartphones-for-social-media-on-the-increase/

Who’s Watching Charlottesville. (n.d.). Too much information on social networking sites, you may be giving away more thank you think. Retrieved from http://www.whoswatchingcharlottesville.org/social.html/

Ericson. J. (2013). Facebook addiction: social media used linked to reward center in brain, scientists conclude. Retrieved from http://www.medicaldaily.com/facebook-addiction-social-media-use-linked-reward-center-brain-scientists-conclude-255254/

Digital Charlotte. (2013). What is instagram? Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N92MQ9o4Fe0/

CNN. (2011). Explain it to  me: twitter. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gnbn0kwT_o/

Elizabeth. L. (2013). Are people really more narcissistic than ever before? if so, are social networks and other new media to blame? Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/conversations/18501/are_people_really_more_narciss.html/

Nations. D. (n.d.). Why get involved with online social networking?. Retrieved from http://webtrends.about.com/od/socialnetworking/a/socialnetwork-y.htm/

Debate. (n.d.). Are social networking sites generally beneficial to our way of life?. Retrieved from http://www.debate.org/opinions/are-social-networking-sites-generally-beneficial-to-our-way-of-life/

Bryant. C. (n.d.). Top 10 things you should not share on social networks. Retrieved from http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/social-networking/information/10-things-you-should-not-share-on-social-networks.htm/

Talreja. P. (2013). 5 social networking platforms that teens “like” more than facebook. Retrieved from http://www.policymic.com/articles/36951/5-social-networking-platforms-teens-like-more-than-facebook/