My Blog

Hello everyone!

Can you remember using internet like you do now? The younger generation can’t think back to before internet but if you ask a parent or a grandparent, they know when the internet was invented, 1983. If it wasn’t for internet we wouldn’t have a whole other world behind the computer screen, cell phone or ipod. That brings use to, social media. What is life today with social media and how does it effect people everyday?

In the United States, an estimated 196 million people used social media in 2016, a number forecast to exceed 216 million by 2021.

I was able to interview a couple people from around Wisconsin about what they think about social media, what the positive and negative outcomes are, and what they think social media is doing to all generations.

The first people I was able to interview is Rebecca Morris from Clinton, WI. She is a business owner and said a few words about what she thinks about social media and how it is effecting people.

“They have lost social skills like how to talk in person to someone, it’s almost like they do not know what to say and it is easier to hide being a cell phone or a computer.” Said Morris.

Most people believe that social media has both positive and negative outcome in a persons life.

Social Media is defiantly for the younger generation.

Today around seven-in-ten Americans use social media to connect with one another, engage with news content, share information and entertain themselves.

I had the opportunity to interview Savannah Waller who graduated with a marketing major from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has used her major towards her career in marketing.

Waller said that she thinks that “social media is a great way for companies and people to stay connected and is a great tool to use marketing companies.”

Not being able to get a face to face interview with a employee from Burns Industrial. I was able to email with Julia Carlson. Julia Carlson is a graphic designer and she uses social media everyday. Not just for her own personal use or for her work but she makes social media look better. She is able to connect with what people want to see on the internet.

Carlson said, “Helping people with the other side of the internet and making it look better for people makes me believe that social media is a great place to express your emotions.”

Today 69% of Americans use some sort of social media. Young adults were among the earliest social media adopters and continue to use these sites at high levels, but usage by older adults has increased in recent years.

Facebook is the most used social media platform in the United states, following close behind with Twitter, Instagram, pinterest and linkedin.

From the Pew Research Center in Washington DC says that “The youngest adults stand out in their social media consumption.”

By interviewing people from three different generations I was able to conclude that the younger generation does consume social media more. 88% of young adults from 18 years old to 29 year old spend more the 3 hours a day on social media for personal use and work related.

An international view on the social media aspect are some of the social medias you will not recognize such Qzore, V Kortakte, and Odnakiassniki but you will notice that facebook is covering more then half of the world. Facebook is the no. 1 social media network in 129 out of 137 countries. Coming up in 2nd is instagram, instagram has 600 million monthly active users in the world and the United States is not the one that is mostly using instagram. Australia and Canada are the countries that use instagram the most.

It is almost a tie between if social media is good for you or not. Most people say that it can be bad and consume your everyday life and people can hide behind a screen but people also say that social media can also help the world grow and to expand.

Then there is a final question.. Would you give up social media?
Even as a majority of Americans now use social platforms of various kinds, a relatively large share of these users feel that they could give up social media without much difficulty.
These findings vary by age. Roughly half of social media users ages 18 to 24 (51%) say it would be hard to give up social media, but just one-third of users ages 50 and older feel similarly.

I for one, know I could give up social media but then how am I suppose to further my career in journalism and get my name out there?

Check out this Ted Talk: