As a parent of a 15-year-old girl and also a parent who I believe is still “hip” with technology today. I try to keep on my toes about what is going on in the world of social media…trying to stay at least in step with what the teenagers are doing.
I stumbled upon this great article from a teenager, though he’s barely a teenager still at 19, he gives some very interesting points of view on the major social networks. I enjoy his article because unlike the typical teenager he is able to get his point across and really allow me as a parent a view into what teens are doing and thinking in regards to social media. He also includes some newer platforms that were new to me!
Here are a few great quotes from his article:
Facebook is something we all got in middle school because it was cool but now is seen as an awkward family dinner party we can’t really leave. It’s weird and can even be annoying to have Facebook at times.
How true is this! How many of adults probably feel this way – its like I should check it to make sure all is right with my contacts, but it has so many ads and is so difficult to search to find anything of worth!
People do not post 10000 times a day on Instagram. This means that there isn’t a constant flow of content being shoved down my throat every time I open the application, and it is possible to be “caught up” with my Instagram feed.
I have really started to love using Instagram because people don’t waste my time! This also flows into the next platform – because I can feel “caught up” and not left behind like I do with Twitter!
To be honest, a lot of us simply do not understand the point of Twitter.
How funny, I can’t tell you the number of times I have heard this from colleagues of mine. Twitter is great to get major news out quick, but is difficult to keep up with and search!
You post yourself getting ready for the party, going to the party, having fun at the party, leaving at the end of the party, and waking up the morning after the party on Snapchat.
I’ll be honest, I’ve never quite understood Snapchat and why it is so popular, but reading the above statement really cemented what Snapchat is. Teens are so into themselves and how they feel/look and this is an app where they can post that for all of their friends to see. Their friends who are also selfish and probably feeling the same way. It does make sense that this app is popular among teens. And for those of us that don’t care to see our face on camera everyday without having showered, etc. don’t want to have all of our friends see and follow us.
Tumblr is like a secret society that everyone is in, but no one talks about. Tumblr is where you are your true self and surround yourself (through who you follow) with people who have similar interests.
So true! I love tumblr in that you can follow whoever you want to read and still blog about the stuff you want your readers to read. And nobody ever has to know who/what you follow.
It has gotten to be so addicting because it focuses solely on the content of your posts—there are no followers, no profiles, nothing. Whatever is funny/relevant is at the top and everything else is at the bottom, whether Kanye West is the one who is writing it or some random kid who never talks in class.
For those of you who don’t know (I didn’t know until today) this is Yik Yak and as he says it posts the stuff that is interesting at the time and depending on who is around you. I have had it for a few days now and it is interesting…but I don’t think my young teen knows about it yet. So can I finally say I’m ahead of her on this one?
What Medium does right is the “recommend” function. This is unseen on WordPress (besides the typical website sharing buttons) and is really what makes Medium a community, not just a bunch of individual sites.
Medium is new to me – but I love it! It has a bit more formal feeling than Tumblr and I love how I can follow and comment and everything is right in front of me, instead of having to read through several pages of comments to find gems. Again this is beyond what my daughter is doing, but for personal reasons I am going to keep checking out Medium, it is a great tool!
He has a few more things to say about the smaller platforms:
- LinkedIn – mainly for those who have graduated college and looking for jobs.
- Pinterist – for women and artsy folks – so true!
- Kik – weird other texting app.
- WhatsApp – not really used much except abroad.
- GroupMe – new to me, and I just downloaded it to give it a try…I’ll let you know what I think.
What did you find interesting about this article?
Did you pick up any tidbits of info?
Are there other things you would include?
What are the teens in your church using?
Are you currently using any other platforms than the ones listed here?
I also like the article because he doesn’t use any “data” he just tells it as he sees it. So from his point of a view as a freshman at the University of Texas, here is what he has to say.
Eric Dye says
This was excellent, wasn’t it? Great insight on younger social media trends.
Seth Rowoldt says
Thanks! Can’t wait for part 2!