Social media is an integral part of our society. The rise of social media has created much of pop culture being surrounded by it, with many people gaining stardom from a viral post. Social media has provided an outlet for people to express themselves and expose their ideas. It also provides an outlet for small businesses to promote their products and events they are having. However, social media can also have negative impacts, especially surrounding bullying and self confidence. 

      Unfortunately, social media creates a space where cyberbullying is present, whether it is in the comment section of a TikTok video or people reposting videos saying negative things about the post and or the person who posted it. Social media often can create a skewed perspective of social expectations as many videos can be posed or be endorsed giving them not an authentic, raw perspective. This can negatively impact teens’ emotional health and self confidence. Social media usage among teens has spiked in the last decade with an estimated 90% of children ages 13 to 17 having one or more social media accounts according to the AACAP (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry). Many teens have gained stardom from social media, such as Tik Tok star Charli D’Amelio who gained stardom on social media at 15. Additionally, social media allows teens to connect with other teens with similar interests to them through social media posts. However, this can also harbor a negative environment online, with cyberbullying becoming a pressing issue within the last decade. More pushback has also been put onto social media in the past year, with Tik Tok, one of the most prevalent social media apps being at risk of banning due to security threats.

      Within the Hackley Upper School Community, social media is incredibly prevalent. Jonah Hootnick, a ninth grade student says, “I have had it (social media) since fifth grade… it allows me to connect with my friends who I haven’t seen in a while.” He believes that social media “has shaped him”, showing its influence on many teens like Jonah. He sees the positives that come with social media, but also believes that one of the negative effects is how addicting it can be. His weekly social media average was eleven hours, which he justifies by saying that he takes the bus each day, with each ride being an hour long. He said, “It keeps me entertained.” Many use social media for that reason, for it’s never ending feed of videos and posts as well as a way to connect with friends. Another ninth grader, Lilly Rogers, also uses social media to connect with her friends and other creators. Regarding the pros and cons, she said, “While I believe people misusing social media is wrong, I believe that being able to connect with others outweighs the negatives as that was what social media was made for.”. She states that she spends one to two hours on social media daily, usually to get her through her long commute. 

       Small businesses thrive on the platform social media provides. Bon Bon, a New York City based Swedish candy store has taken flight from its rise in prevalence on social media apps such as Tik Tok and Instagram. People online have all done “swedish candy reviews” and it has gotten so popular that often you will find its stores out of stock of many popular types of candy and online they state that orders may not be fulfilled for another 2-3 weeks due to the high demand. Many small businesses now are using social media to help market their products, mostly due to when Covid was rampant and many small businesses were at risk of shutting down. Now, social media is one of the key ways small businesses can pipeline themselves and gain attention.

      Social media is a constant debate among all generations, whether it is beneficial or harmful for users. Social media provides an outlet for people to connect with others and share moments, as well as it allows people to gain stardom and help small businesses grow. However, social media can also provide negative effects such as cyberbullying, loss of attention span, and an attachment to phones. These pros and cons constantly debated on whether either outweighs each other. I believe that social media’s pros outweigh its cons as it allows people to connect with one another, helps small businesses thrive, and it is such an integral part of society. Imposing restrictions on social media would only hurt society even more.